Manager of the year?

Whilst our form has turned somewhat sour of late - at least until tonight's victory over Albion Rovers - one Stenny hero who nevertheless has good reason to celebrate is our ex-centre back Harry Cairney, who is nearing the end of a remarkably successful season in charge of our Third Division rivals Annan Athletic. Cairney represented the Warriors between 1983 and 1992, making 306 appearances, before moving on for an equally long and successful spell at Brechin City. He began his managerial career with Annan in the 2003-04 season, and returned to the club in 2006 following an unsuccessful spell at Arbroath. Yet when Annan were elected to the SFL at the start of the current season, the challenge facing Cairney was perhaps the greatest of his career.

Annan’s election was a surprise to many, myself included: I felt that Spartans had a strong case, with excellent infrastructure and a relatively strong squad (which at the time included Kevin Motion) already in place – the side had finished as champions of the East of Scotland League. Annan, on the other hand, had finished seventh in the same league, and the club had to put urgent plans into place to bring Galabank up to SFL standards – the work was still ongoing when we visited them in August.

Against that backdrop, Cairney did remarkably well to assemble a squad capable of competing at this level. Of the 25 players in Annan’s first team squad, eleven joined the club last summer. (Most of these players were youngsters with no SFL experience; one of them was Darren Johnstone, whose previous senior career had consisted of around three matches for Stenny in 2003.) They have played their part in an excellent campaign: the side got off to a flying start, and have really hit form again in the last couple of months.

The Third Division manager of the year award is, as such, something of a no-brainer. Sides such as Cowdenbeath, Dumbarton and ourselves were always expected to be in promotion contention, and even the Shire have invested considerable funds in their squad this season. Whoever goes on to win the title, then, the team of the season is undoubtedly Annan Athletic. When the season began I was amongst their many doubters – I expected them to finish rock bottom – but they remain alongside ourselves in playoff contention, and have thus proved me entirely wrong.