Latest news with #JamesBord
STV News
6 days ago
- General
- STV News
'Honeymoon period over' for Lennon at Pars as he builds for next season
Dunfermline boss Neil Lennon insists his 'honeymoon period' at East End Park is over as he prepares for next season and aims to give Derek McInnes a 'bloody nose' in the League Cup. The former Celtic manager took the reins at the Pars last season and helped keep them in the Championship before being handed the job on a permanent basis. He is now ready for the 'real work' to begin as he begins to build a squad for the upcoming campaign and revealed the big part the club's owner, James Bord, played in his decision to take on the task. He said: 'I had a taste of it towards the end of last season, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed being back in Scottish football. 'I have also been really impressed by the owner; he is the main reason I have taken this on. I enjoyed working with the players and the staff here have been exceptionally good with me. 'But, that's the honeymoon period over now, and the real work now sort of begins. I felt a large bit of loyalty towards James Bord as well. 'One, for talking me into coming here, and then the opportunity to take the club on, so I owe a lot to him for this. 'What we want to do is build a team and build a squad because we've let a lot of players go in the summer. 'Obviously, we weren't happy with our league position and 28 goals in 36 games speaks for itself, so we want to bring a brand of football and excitement to the club to be competitive in this division, which you have to be. 'Then we will try to find those nuggets of quality that can make the difference in games.' The Pars will get their campaign under way against Hearts at Tynecastle in the group stage of the Premier Sports Cup at the start of July. Lennon, who managed across the other side of Edinburgh when he was Hibs boss, will come up against McInnes in his first game in the home dugout. And while the former Kilmarnock and Aberdeen boss is someone the Dunfermline manager rates highly, he hopes to give him the worst possible start in his new job. Lennon said: 'It's a great game to come back to, albeit very early, but it will be a great challenge for us. I'm delighted for Derek (to get the Hearts job), because I have been a big fan of his for a long time, and he has got himself back at a really big city club, so it will be exciting times for Hearts as well. 'But we want to go there and give him a bloody nose if we can.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Lennon targets promotion, then Europe, with Dunfermline
Manager Neil Lennon says Dunfermline Athletic have the potential to become one of Scottish football's top six clubs and hopes one day to lead them into - who was initially appointed on a short-term basis in March - has signed a two-year deal to lead the Scottish Championship side, who were taken over by the American based entrepreneur James Bord in December last says his ambitions match those of the owner and but first they must gain promotion from the second tier and into the top flight for the first time in 13 years."The ultimate ambition for us all is to try and get promotion and get back into the European picture," the former Celtic and Hibernian manager told BBC Scotland."It's a long way off, but you've got to have ambition, you've got to have targets."I'm not saying we're going to do it in one year, but hopefully two. We can sort of see the signs that we're going in the right direction." Lennon had been out of the game for almost a year and had been working as a media pundit before joining the Fife club. However during his seven-match spell as interim boss - in which time he extracted them from a relegation fight - he could feel this was a project he could work with."They made me really welcome," he added. "But that's always the case when you're an interim manager. "Now that the honeymoon's over, I'm excited about the ambition that the owner has and I'm excited about building a squad. It's something I've never had to do before. "I think this is perfect for me. There were other interests, if you want to call it that, but after the end of the season, we made up our mind that we wanted to do this."New owner Bord has huge plans for the club and despite maintaining a low profile personally was able to convince Lennon this was the best place to progress."I think we had in one week, about seven phone calls where he convinced me to come, and I liked that," Lennon explained."He made me feel that I was their man. And I feel a sense of loyalty to him now."I've got a good relationship with him. I like the way he works. I like his ideas on the game. It's new for me to learn as well. "Ultimately, it's about building a team that's going to be competitive in the league. It's going to get people through the door. That's what I want to do. And play a really strong brand of football."
The Courier
05-05-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
D-day for Dunfermline Athletic's out-of-contract players
Today is D-day for Dunfermline's out-of-contract players. Following the conclusion of the Championship season on Friday night, many of the Pars stars are learning their fate ahead of a major squad rebuild this summer. New owners James Bord and Evan Sofer are expected to fund an extensive revamp following two years of the team underperforming and struggling at the wrong end of the table. Whether Neil Lennon remains to guide the Fifers beyond the summer also remains to be confirmed. The former Celtic and Hibernian manager has made encouraging noises in recent weeks over a possible longer stay at East End Park. However, with Championship survival confirmed by Hamilton Accies' points deduction, planning for the new season is ongoing, with an incredible 20 first-team players out of contract. It is understood chairman and chief executive David Cook is meeting with the squad for talks on Monday. With six loan players – Toby Oluwayemi, Tommy Fogarty, Andre Raymond, Owen Hampson, Archie Stevens and Ephraim Yeboah – returning to their parent clubs, deals for a further 14 expire in the coming days. They include defender Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen and Lewis McCann, although pptions to extend are understood to have been built into their previous agreements. Some stalwarts of late, such as Aaron Comrie, Chris Hamilton and Joe Chalmers, are also facing an uncertain future, whilst others – Craig Wighton and Rhys Breen – have been out on loan. With the likes of David Wotherspoon, Michael O'Halloran and Craig Clay in the 'experienced' category and a plethora of younger signings early in the new year failing to make much of an impact, there is expected to be a massive turnover of players. High-profile Lennon recruit Victor Wanyama and Omar Taylor-Clarke, Tashan Oakley-Boothe and fans' favourite Josh Cooper complete the extensive list of players reaching the end of deals. Some of the youngsters who helped the club win the recent Reserve Cup are also out of contract this summer. It leaves Dunfermline with a squad of Deniz Mehmet, Ewan Otoo, Sam Young, Kyle Benedictus, Sam Fisher, Kieran Ngwenya, Kane Ritchie-Hosler, Matty Todd, Andrew Tod, Chris Kane, Connor Young, Taylor Sutherland and Keith Bray. Whether some of those may be told they can seek a future elsewhere is another question.
The Sun
03-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Sheffield United set to AXE club scouts as they turn to never-before-seen method to sign new players
SHEFFIELD UNITED are turning to an Anglo-American AI talent spotting company to find new players — and that will mean the axe for top scouts The Blades are now under American ownership, who plan to run all targets through the databanks and computerised systems of a super-spy company. 3 3 3 Insiders reveal Las Vegas-based, London-born James Bord is the middleman involved in finding players, hopefully for the Premier League next season. Bord made a fortune as a poker player before shifting his focus to the computer world, where his companies and ideas have thrived in several fields. Blades boss Chris Wilder signed several players for the promotion push and most were found by the old-fashioned way. However, the Yank owners are convinced that the new methods are the Blades' future. And insiders reveal that a couple of January signings were also double-checked for approval by this outfit. United also brought in a couple of young players from abroad in discoveries made by a San Francisco company called Both Bord and business partner Evan Sofer are also the new owners of Scottish club Dunfermline through a company they set up called Park Bench. Links have already been forged between United and the Pars, with the two clubs pushing through a loan deal for Blades midfielder Owen Hampson. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS If United make the Prem via the play-offs they will be relying heavily on finding the next signings by their new analytic allies. In the meantime, their own scouts could be reduced or made redundant as a result. Football teams that controversially changed their badge Bord's relationship with United could also grow. He wants to have a stake in an English club and they are firmly in his sights. He already has an interest in Spanish side Cordoba and an outfit in Bulgaria, too.
