Fergus in the frame as new Selkirk boss

The UEFA-qualified football coach is expected to be confirmed very soon as the successor to Garry O’Connor.

Fergus, who is 48, took last night’s training session at Yarrow Park and is due to preside over tomorrow (Thursday) night’s practice, as well as taking charge of the team for this Saturday’s away match with the University of Stirling.

He is a UEFA-licensed technical coach with youth coaching qualifications from SFA, FA and FAI associations, and has extensive coaching experience with youth football academies at clubs including Hearts, Dunfermline, Hamilton Academical and Hibernian.

He has delivered coaching clinics at home and abroad – having worked in Europe, Ameria and the Far East – and, on his LinkedIn page, he says: “I have a real passion to continue to learn and share information on the game of football, and continually evolve and improve myself as a coach.”

Fergus has been keen also to step into a management role and the Selkirk players were reportedly very pleased at the prospect of working with him.

A spokesman said he was the most highly-qualified coach the club had ever had, while he also had excellent contacts at clubs in Scotland and England.

While his move has still to be completely finalised by the club, the spokesman added it had not been a “rushed appointment” – the Souters had been speaking to Fergus onver the last two or three weeks.

And he already had connections with the side, having helped bring a couple of current recruits to Yarrow Park in the summer.

Garry O’Connor, who took over the coach’s role in October last year from Steve Forrest, is moving to a role as director of football at Selkirk, and also working on the commercial side.