Edinburgh City is delighted to announce Gary Naysmith as the club’s new first team manager.  

The 42-year-old becomes the Club’s third manager since promotion to the SPFL and closely follows our restructuring process, which has seen former boss James McDonaugh take up the role of Sporting Director.

Born in Edinburgh, Gary is no stranger to the Capital football scene having started his professional playing career with Hearts, making more than 100 appearances for the Tynecastle side. His time at the club was highlighted by lifting the 1998 Scottish Cup before he agreed to sign for English Premier League giants Everton for £1.7m in 2000.

His move south led to more than 130 Premier League appearances along with many of his 46 Scotland international caps. Despite several serious injuries during his time at Goodison Park, Gary made a £1m move to Sheffield United in 2007, becoming their regular full back in the English Championship before latterly agreeing moves to Huddersfield Town and Aberdeen.

In the twilight of his playing career he joined East Fife, which developed into a player-manager role; Gary went on to lead the Methil men to the League 2 title in 2016. Following this success, he took over at Championship side Queen of the South later that year, a position he held until May 2019.

Most recently Gary has been in the role of Loan Manager for Hearts where he has overseen the development of the young players at the club.

In a unique situation, new Sporting Director James McDonaugh found himself being tasked with helping toappoint his successor and he was delighted to have this deal concluded in such a positive manner:

“Part of my first task as Sporting Director was to work together with the board to identify and recruit a new manager. We are delighted to announce Gary; someone who has experience of managing in and also winning this league. He is a UEFA Pro licensed coach and more importantly, his drive and ambition mirrors that of the board, which makes his appointment even more exciting.

I am looking forward to supporting him as the Club’s new manager and am sure he will play a huge role in our continued development.”

ECFCTV caught up with the new Gaffer who was delighted to be back in the dugout, having put pen to paper on a contract until June 2024:

“Firstly, I would like to say how proud I am to be named as the new manager of Edinburgh City. 

I can honestly say that this is a role that I have been thinking about for a while if it became available and I am unbelievably excited to be getting the opportunity to front up a Club that I believe can become a significant force in the coming years. 

Talks with the Board started over the weekend, and after hearing about their plans for the Club’s future, as well as seeing their obvious passion and enthusiasm, I couldn’t wait to sign the contract and get started. The length of the contract is of personal importance to me as it allows an opportunity to build something from within over a period of time and that is something that holds a particular attraction for myself as I would like to make a significant contribution to the club over an extended period of time. 

I am also looking forward to working closely with James in his new role as sporting director. I have known James for many years now and we have always enjoyed a good relationship. He did a great job during his spell as manager and I think it is fantastic that he will hold such an important role at the club as we continue to build and move the club forward.”

The fans will shortly have an opportunity to put their questions to both the new boss and Sporting Director in a Facebook Live event, keep an eye on our socials for more information.

Welcome to Edinburgh City Gary!

#OurECFC

 

 

Club Statement

The club is delighted to announce that current manager James McDonaugh has agreed to become our new Sporting Director.

Since taking over as manager in October 2017, James has developed a side that was deep in a relegation battle into promotion and title challengers; finishing third in his first full season in charge, improving to runners up in last years campaign, curtailed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to his role as first team manager, James has also been overseeing the youth section of the club, providing consultancy and guidance to the various coaches throughout the organisation and strategising the pathway from youths up to the under 20s.

As part of the club’s strategy moving forward, the decision to create the role of Sporting Director was taken in consultation with James and it became clear early in those discussions that the position would be an ideal fit for both him and the club. As a UEFA Pro License holder, James will continue to bring his expertise to all aspects of footballing activity at the club while at the same time providing a level of continuity not typically available when creating a new role.

On the news of his new appointment, James commented:

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last three and a half years representing the club as Manager and now I can’t wait to begin my new role as Sporting Director. The board has a lot of ambition and ideas to move the club forward and I can’t wait to help and be part of it in the future.

I’d like to thank my backroom staff and all the players that have played in this period as well as the great support we have received as a team from fans, volunteers and sponsors. The current squad are more than capable of being promoted this year and I wish them the very best as they have been a pleasure to work with through mostly good times but also these recent difficult times that we’ve experienced.”

Chairman Jim Brown was similarly delighted with the move:

“Everyone at the club is delighted that James has accepted the role of Sporting Director. Over the past few months the club has been working tirelessly on various projects that will allow us to continue our development both on and off the park. Our long-term ambitions can only be enhanced by having James in this new and exciting role as his knowledge and experience will be invaluable to the board.”

Uniquely, one of his first tasks will be to help the club source a new manager and the club will be making an announcement on that process as soon as possible.

#OurECFC

Welcome Michael Cunningham

The Club is delighted to welcome our second signing in 24 hours with the capture of forward Michael Cunningham on loan from Dundee FC.

Michael was initially on the books of Celtic as a youth and moved to Dens Park in the summer of 2018. He was a stand-out for the Dark Blues youth team, becoming their top scorer in a successful side that reached the quarter finals of the SFA Youth Cup. He was seen top team action at Dundee, coming on and scoring in the penalty shoot out victory over Peterhead in last season’s BetFred Cup as well as appearing against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Championship back in January of this year. Michael joins us on loan until January 2021.

After making his second signing in short succession, Manager James McDonaugh commented: “Michael has been training with us now for a couple of weeks and shown a great attitude to come to us. He is a promising young striker who will add competition in that area and I hope he will develop with us and kick on.”

The young forward will join fellow new signing Gabby McGill in tomorrow’s squad for the League opener against Brechin City.

Good to have you on board Michael!

#OurECFC

Welcome Gabby McGill

We are delighted to announce the signing of 20 year old striker Gabby McGill on loan from Dunfermline Athletic.

The frontman began his career with York City before signing for Middlesbrough in 2017. After spending two seasons with the Riverside club’s youth teams he then joined the Pars in May 2019. Having made a dozen appearances for Dunfermline in the Championship he scored his first goal for the club in February of this year in the 3-2 win at Queen of the South.

Manager James McDonaugh on the signing of Gabby: “We first became aware of Gabby when he came on against us in last season’s BetFred cup and we saw him again when Dunfermline played St Mirren in the same competition, so when Stevie Crawford intimated he might be available I was extremely interested. We’ve had to bide our time while this season’s BeFred group matches played out however I’m delighted we’ve been able to get the deal done. I’m also very happy that Dunfermline view us as a club where their promising young players can come and continue their development. Although Gabby is still a young player, he’s got good experience of being at big clubs and has seen a decent amount of game time in the Championship already. He will add to our attacking options and provide competition for the forward positions.”

Welcome to Edinburgh City Gabby!

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