Huntly boss says Hughes man to fill Academy hotseat
RICHARD Hughes is the man to take over the vacant Wick Academy manager’s job.
So says Huntly manager Dave McGinlay whose side went down 3-2 at home to the Scorries in an end-to-end affair on Saturday. McGinlay reckons that the current caretaker has experience in abundance both on and off the pitch and should be at the top of the list of candidates to replace Davie Kirkwood.
"With six results out of seven recently, the team is clearly going in the right direction," said the Huntly gaffer.
"Obviously I don’t make that decision and maybe it’s wrong for me to put my oar in but if you ask me Tichie deserves the job undoubtedly 100 per cent.
"I don’t have any doubts that he is the man for the job."
Kirkwood was in post for just under a year before taking the decision in August to defect to local derby rivals Brora Rangers.
The move left the club in turmoil as a year earlier then-manager Hughes had stepped away from the top job along with co-manager Ian Munro.
Hughes then stepped up to the plate once again, with Munro also taking up a key coaching role.
Since then, the Scorries have given a good account of themselves, fighting their way tooth and nail into this weekend’s North of Scotland Cup final against Nairn County and securing second place in the league with two games in hand over table-toppers Cove Rangers.
For McGinlay, Hughes’s appointment, which is the subject of much fan speculation at the moment, is a no-brainer.
"He thoroughly deserves to get back in and continue the work he was doing before," said McGinlay.
"He should be the man to take them forward.
"The manner in which he has conducted himself since the previous manager left has made it unanimous in my mind that he should take over."
He added: "A local lad should look after local players."
But Academy’s executive committee has ruled out appointing a permanent manager until after the tomorrow’s final at Grant Street Park in Inverness. A win would secure the club’s first senior trophy since its step-up to the Highland League 18 years ago.
Club chairman Colin Stewart has previously confirmed that there has been expressions of interest from elsewhere but confirmed that Hughes was definitely in the running for the job. It all hangs in the balance until tomorrow.
