Latest news with #PFAManageroftheYear
The Herald Scotland
07-05-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Falkirk's title triumph, dark days, John McGlynn & Hearts speculation
'If they pick up the phone, I just won't answer," he tells Herald Sport, only half in jest. The first man to win PFA Manager of the Year three times, McGlynn is 63 now. Where most managers are heading into the twilight zone of retail parks and Open All Mics, he's in the prime of his career, back in demand after back-to-back promotions. (Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) In May 2022, Falkirk were in a dark place. The club AGM had gone viral after a pugnacious punch and judy show between directors and fans. The board had stepped down. Paying full-time wages to a team which finished sixth in League One they were losing money hand over fist. Lured from Stenhousemuir to steady the ship Swinney wondered what, in god's name, he'd got himself into. 'I can talk about this openly now,' he says. 'But I had a lot of reservations about coming here because I felt the club had been poorly run for a long time. 'In the build up to that infamous fans' Q&A we were conscious of a disconnect between fans and club which had to be addressed. 'We were going to go down the road of fan ownership so we had to bring the fans back with us. 'But we had a meeting and while I agreed with a Q&A format the board of that time decided that they wanted to, not go on the attack exactly, but make sure that the fans understood that their negativity was part of the problem. 'I said, 'I can't stress enough that this is the wrong approach and I want it minute'd that I do not agree with that approach. And I was dreading that night. Dreading it. 'It was two and a half hours of watching through the cracks of the fingers and I remember walking out that night thinking, 'have I made a real error moving here?' Falkirk lost 6-0 to Queen's Park and that was the end of the road for manager Paul Sheerin. Swinney had been part of the selection process for three or four managers at Stenhousemuir. Schooling a new Falkirk board on how it's done he cut through the usual scattergun approach to set five key criteria for Sheerin's replacement. Availability and affordability, a record of promotion from the lower leagues, a progressive style of football, a record of youth development and experience of the SPFL Premiership were all on there. 'I was told to come back the next day with a shortlist and there was only one name on it; John McGlynn. 'John was the only one met all five. 'I have never had a higher degree of conviction over anything than I did over the fact that John was the right manager for Falkirk. In any decision I have ever made. I was absolutely convinced.' (Image: Ross Parker - SNS Group) In his first season McGlynn kept the bailiffs from the door by leading the Bairns to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup. They went 36 games unbeaten to wrap up League One last season, winning 90 points after 27 wins and nine draws. That run only ended last September against Raith Rovers when they were cutting a swathe through the Championship and giving Celtic a bit of a fright in the Premier Sports Cup at Parkhead. While McGlynn failed to get the better of Brendan Rodgers that day, he still pipped his old Celtic boss Manager of the Year at the PFA Scotland awards on Sunday night. 'I would go as far as to say that I think John is obviously the manager of the year,' says Swinney with some conviction. 'With all due respect, Celtic could win a treble when they are currently far and away the biggest and best club in the country with the most resources is an achievement for sure. But it's relative to the fact that they have the most of everything. 'Hibs have been on a great run. But Hibs finishing third or fourth is where Hibs should be every season. David Gray has done brilliantly, but got Hibs to where they probably should be. 'We entered the Championship after five years in League One. Several clubs outspent us and we didn't have the biggest budget in the league, yet we became the first club since Gretna to win back-to-back promotions. And we all know how Gretna did it… 'John and Paul Smith have not only recruited well, but they have made players better as well. That's proper coaching. 'They produced a team which has consistently played the best football in the most competitive league over 36 games.' Managers who win back-to-back promotions inevitably attract the attention of other clubs, and McGlynn's history with Hearts makes him an obvious contender for the post vacated by Neil Critchley. Tynecastle Chief Executive Andrew McKinlay and Technical Director Graeme Jones need to get this one right and, while they'll spread the net far and wide with the help of Jamestown Analytics, McGlynn's homespun consistency deserves a mention in despatches. 'Listen, I would be very surprised if people didn't speculate over the future of John,' Swinney acknowledges. 'If anybody gets an opportunity to go to a considerably bigger club on a lot more money in football, then I think the vast majority of people can understand it. But I hope it doesn't happen. And I am hopeful now we are in the Premiership. 'In the Premiership, we hope John can achieve his ambitions with us and we can hopefully do what we wanted to do for a long time by being competitive in the top flight. 'We extended John and his assistant Paul Smith by another three years, so they got four seasons at the club and that was way before we had confirmed the league. Read more: 'So we have already rewarded the management team with a longer-term contract and they love it here. 'The squad love John, the fans love him. While he has had bits of success in his career what he has done at Falkirk trumps everything he has done before by a long, long way. 'If we can now go to the Premiership and be competitive in year one, I don't see what we can't go on and aspire to compete for the top six like St Mirren. 'I'm not saying we do it immediately, but there is nothing to say that Falkirk as a club can't do it.' There were bumps along the way because there always are. Self-doubt began to creep in after they crashed out of the Scottish Cup and lost main striker Callumn Morrison to Linfield. The timely arrival of Scott Arfield was like a shot of adrenaline into a blood vein. 'The top goalscorer wanted to leave, we were out the cup and our recent league results had been a little bit uninspiring," Swinney recalls. 'Fast forward a week, Scott Arfield is in the door and brings a wave of euphoria. 'He was 38 seconds into his second debut and he hadn't touched the ball and when the ball rolls to him in the 18-yard box he did what he has done his whole career. 'Composure, quality and his first goal before he goes on to score a hat-trick. It was Roy of the Rovers stuff. 'He is a hero to fans, what he has brought in terms of goals speaks for itself. 'And what he added off the park is probably more valuable still. 'We have an option on Scott and I think we would be absolutely crazy to not do everything we can to keep him here next season. 'We have a ton of work to do for the Premiership. We have just spent five years in League One and our infrastructure is closer to League One than it is to the Premiership. 'There is so much that needs done. But, listen, it's a brilliant problem to have….'
Daily Record
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
John McGlynn on his Celtic learning curve behind Falkirk surge to the Premiership and unseen Brendan Rodgers role
The veteran boss has led the Bairns had to the top flight after winning the Championship - and the PFA Manager of the Year gong In his own words, John McGlynn calls it, 'Doing an Ipswich!'. Taking a team from the third tier of the domestic league, picking it up by the bootstraps and delivering it straight into the top flight with back-to-back promotions. That was his aim at the outset of this season. To emulate the miraculous managerial feat carried out by Kieran McKenna at Portman Road. But, before McGlynn could do an Ipswich with Falkirk, first he had to do a Brendan Rodgers. His coaching credentials were already impressive enough. After all, this is a man who was first crowned Scotland's manager of the year by his own peers back in 2011 when he was in charge at Raith Rovers for the first time. But two years spent subsequently inside Rodgers' boot room at Celtic 's Lennoxtown hub turbocharged McGlynn's tactical acumen for his return to management back in Kirkcaldy - and which would ultimately catapult him towards Falkirk. The club where fate was waiting to embrace him. As a result, the 63-year-old has clocked up successive manager of the year awards to go with two promotions on the bounce - and stands as the only man in history to have been honoured with that title for a third time. And that's despite Rodgers knocking out two Premiership titles on the trot after his own second coming at Celtic - while closing in on a second season treble. The irony is not lost on McGlynn. Nor, for that matter, the significance of the lessons learned during his time inside the Rodgers winning machine. 'I learned a lot at Celtic,' McGlynn said late on Sunday night as he reflected on the journey which has taken him to this point, with another award in his hands. 'Initially for the first 18 months I was working in recruitment with John Park and the recruitment group. Ronny Deila and John Collins were the manager and assistant manager. They were good to work with. Then Brendan came in.' And everything changed. The two men had crossed swords in the dugout back in 2012, when McGlynn led Hearts to Anfield for what became an epic Battle of Britain tie in the Europa League. Liverpool boss Rodgers eventually came out on top but needed a Luis Suarez goal three minutes from time of the second leg to scrape into the group stages. McGlynn went on: 'There was a little bit of connection because of the Hearts and Liverpool tie. And he wanted me to look at the opposition which was an amazing job. 'To learn from him - but not only to learn from him - I was watching domestic and European opposition, so I'm watching Man City, Barcelona, PSG - I'm watching the whole lot. And on a daily basis, I'm watching the Celtic players training. 'I was never on the training pitch. Never ever. It was an office job. But I could look and see what they were doing. I was in meetings with Brendan, I understand what he looks for. And I see the way the team can play. 'You would've been stupid not to learn. I learned so much, and I've managed to put that into the teams I've worked with since. 'I know that at Raith Rovers, people were loving what they were watching. We were a little bit unlucky, we won Challenge Cups, we were very close, we did a really good job, but they dilly-dallied around a new contract. 'Falkirk came to us - seemed enthusiastic for us - and the rest is history.' It's historic alright. And McGlynn might take some time to get his head around it. He continued: 'It's probably not really sunk in yet. It might be 10 years from now, when you're wandering along the street, you may take in exactly what you've achieved here rather than at this moment.' And, in any case, the journey has some distance still to run. McGlynn's next miracle consists of leading Falkirk into Europe and - given the manner with which they set about Rodgers and Celtic on at the home of champions earlier this season in the Scottish Cup - the notion might not be as fanciful as it seems. He said: 'I'm sure there's a lot of Falkirk fans talking like that because you see the style of football we play. Sometimes you get some of the Premiership games on TV and think, 'That wasn't particularly attractive,', 'Look, anything could happen to us next season and I've got so much respect for everyone working in the Premiership. But I think we'll be a good addition. 'Europe might be a little bit ambitious, but you never know. 'The cup game at Celtic Park gave the team a lot of confidence at the time. Although we ended up losing 5-2, with 70 minutes on the clock we were 2-1 up. And how many millions came on the pitch at that point in time? 'One player was £11m, so we're not going to beat ourselves up because of that. But we took a lot of confidence from that. We got a lot of compliments from Celtic, from Brendan, from Celtic fans, which meant a hell of a lot. They've backed us all season because they wanted us to be in the Premiership.' Of course, McGlynn's personal journey began 20 years ago when he was twice appointed as interim manager at Hearts after John Roberston and George Burley had been bulleted in the peak Vladimir Romanov years. He would return to Tynecastle in time for that fateful European run to Merseyside. And now his name is being touted as a leading contender for the position all over again, much to the foreboding of Falkirk's supporters now that they are about to return to the big league for the first time in 15 years. It's a plot twist which can't be ruled out - perhaps critically - not even by the main protagonist himself. McGlynn said: 'It was mentioned the last time as well. It's hypothetical. I've not been asked. I'm contracted to Falkirk. 'If someone at Hearts thinks I should be their manager then we need to speak to the club and the club will talk to me, and then we'll see.' For now, though, McGlynn appears to have found his calling at Falkirk. And he is gathering up the accolades to prove it. He added: 'It takes your breath away to be honest with you. All the managers, great managers, that have worked in Scotland, how can I have three of these? It's crazy, but I obviously must be getting something right because people like what I do.'
Daily Record
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
David Gray's stunning Hibs recovery from Kelty calamity to brink of Europe proves former teammate right
Scott Allan said after the League Cup defeat that he felt Gray wold turn things round and now he's on the brink of clinching third Scott Allan has seen quiet-achiever David Gray take Hibs from a Kelty calamity to the brink of a Europe. And the former Easter Road star is backing the inspirational gaffer to maintain the club's upward surge through an imminent battle on the continent. Gray's magical turnaround of fortunes in Leith saw him on the shortlist for PFA Manager of the Year. Falkirk boss John McGlynn may have topped that vote, but the Hibs boss has his own cherished prizes within sight. Three points clear in third spot with just three Premiership games to go, Allan's old club are set to stamp their passports in a remarkable transformation. Last July, Allan was playing for Kelty Hearts when they humbled Hibs in the Premier Sports Cup. Such misery was maintained through a painful opening period in the term where Gray's men slumped to the top-flight basement and he looked doomed. However, it's all change. Gray's belief and work has boosted the side onto one defeat in 19 Premiership games and eight-straight wins at Easter Road. Allan believed his old team-mate would salvage the situation, but even he is stunned just how well it's going and sees no reason for the ascent to flatten. He said: 'Well, I think the interview I did after that game, I was generally quite positive about Hibs and what I could see in terms of the template for what David Gray was wanting to do. Maybe just personnel would change within that. 'Something that's worked for Hibs under Neil Lennon and Jack Ross as well, going back to the three at the back. That, for some reason, just seems to work with Hibs and having the two up front, especially at home. Obviously, it's been well documented how integral that last-minute equaliser from Rocky Bashiri was against Aberdeen. That's just the wee things, the wee sliding doors moments in the season that can be the catalyst to go on . 'Would I have envisaged them going on and having that long a run without losing a game? No. But I'm absolutely delighted for David because I feel he's the right man. I think how he handled himself, first of all, as a manager and as a person, under huge, huge pressure. Even the pressure of being 'Sir' David Gray to the Hibs fans comes with added pressure for a guy like David. I think he deserves all the things that come his way.' Gray's demeanour in tough times was admirable. He refused to hang his players out to dry and they have spectacularly repaid the backing. Allan continued: 'Listen, a manager can come out and slaughter you, but ultimately players know when they're not performing well. 'I think if you go into the Hibs changing room at that time, they would have had conversations as players and they would have been able to admit that. But when you have a manager who then goes out and he has to face the music, I go back to what I said, how he handled himself in the moments. 'That then transfers onto the players. The players realise he's properly got our backs and he's taking all the hits while we're sitting in the background getting away with some of it. So I think that's a huge part, but that's just Dave's personality. He's not overly vocal, but it's what he says at the right times which will obviously resonate with that Hibs team.' Gray's tactical work has been astute and individuals such as Martin Boyle have prospered. Allan added: 'When I watched Martin over the last few years, he spent most of the time running back to his own corner flag, doubling up on guys. So it's nice to see him obviously get on the end of passes. The thing for me was getting Martin in a position where you can use his attributes to your benefit. Ultimately, you still need to put the ball in the net and I feel that formation change not just defensively but offensively suited Hibs massively.' Gray needs to make squad alterations in the summer and, with Europe beckoning next term, changes will have to be shrewd. The additional strain of games and travel can affect, but Allan said: 'I think there's always an expectation. It helps obviously how the club have been progressing off the pitch. 'It looks like they've got that solidity under David and I think there's no doubt there will be outgoings come summer, but I think they'll be looking at their recruitment and looking to push on. Boys come to the end of contracts, obviously keeping a hold of players who have had good seasons then trying the next year to go and do that again. "That comes from what David implements come pre-season. That could also look different if they finish in third spot and have European competition to play in. 'That could also have a different effect on that and that's how maybe we've seen with Hearts at times why they can't maybe do the same the following season. So there's a lot of things that obviously go into the following season trying to maintain that sort of thing. But I feel that Hibs are on an upward trajectory and David is a massive part of that.'
STV News
02-05-2025
- Sport
- STV News
'No extra pressure' on Hibs as they aim to secure third-place finish
David Gray insists there is no extra pressure on his Hibernian side this weekend despite last week's loss to Aberdeen that ended a long unbeaten run. The Easter Road side are eager to secure a third-place finish in the Premiership and remain in the driving seat with four games remaining. However, following the 1-0 defeat to Jimmy Thelin's side, they are now joint on points with the Dons and three ahead of Dundee United who they play on Saturday. Gray is expecting another tough game but has urged his players to take advantage of playing at home and give themselves another boost towards securing group stage football next season, and being able to attract a higher calibre of player in the summer as a result. Speaking on Friday, the head coach says every game from now on is like a cup final. He said: 'The previous fixtures we have had (against Dundee United) have all been good games for different reasons, it will be a difficult game again but we have to take advantage of being at home and we have to start well and get the crowd right behind us. 'If we keep winning, as I have been saying for a number of weeks now, then no one will catch us and we can only concentrate on ourselves. 'The pressure is always there every time you pull on the jersey, the fact we have worked so hard to put ourselves in this position, makes every game huge. 'This group are determined to finish third now, that is the position we have put ourselves in and that's where our focus lies, but we need to take it one game at a time. 'There's been nothing different this week, clearly the mood after the defeat was something we haven't experienced for a while. 'It's not a feeling that we've enjoyed, but we can't get too down about it, we have to react to it really quickly and the players have reacted in a positive way. 'As soon as the split happened we knew we had five cup finals, so we have no time worry about the past and we all have to move forward.' It was revealed during the week that Gray had joined Brendan Rodgers and Falkirk boss John McGlynn as the three nominees for the PFA Manager of the Year award. He admits he is humbled to be in the running after being voted by fellow managers, but insists credit goes to the players for doing the job on the pitch. He said: 'Obviously really flattered, no better accolade than fellow managers voting for you so I'm very humbled to be in that position. 'It's a reflection on the group of players we have here and the hard work they have put in, they are the ones who have to go over the white line and deliver the results every week. 'So I am very flattered, but also appreciative for all the hard work from everyone at the football club.' 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
Edinburgh Reporter
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
David Gray and Grant Scott nominated for their respective PFA Manager of the Year awards
Hibs head coach David Gray and Hibernian Women's head coach Grant Scott have been nominated for their respective PFA Manager of the Year awards. Gray has been nominated for the SPFL Manager of the Year award after his side's excellent turnaround in form. Gray equalled the Club's longest post-war unbeaten run in the Scottish top-flight, and in the process picked up three Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month awards. Hibs currently sit third in the William Hill Premiership with just four games remaining. Gray has been nominated alongside Brendan Rodgers at Celtic and John McGlynn at Falkirk for the award. Hibernian Women head coach Grant Scott Photo Credit: Ian Jacobs. Scott has been nominated for the SWPL Manager of the Year award. Scott's side have been in magnificent form throughout the 2024/25 campaign and are currently top of the SWPL table, two points ahead of second-placed Rangers. Over the course of the year, they have produced a string of eye-catching performances, including wins over fellow title challengers Rangers, Celtic, and Glasgow City – as well as reaching Sky Sports Cup Final in March. Scott has been nominated for the SWPL award alongside Rangers Women's Head Coach Jo Potter, Glasgow City Head Coach Leanne Ross, and Motherwell Women Head Coach Paul Brownlie. The overall winners will be announced on Sunday 4 May, at the PFA Scotland Awards dinner at the Hilton Hotel, Glasgow. Like this: Like Related
