We are delighted to announce the appointment of Stuart Millar as the club’s new Director of Football.

 

Millar is a familiar face to many Airdrie fans, having played for the Diamonds in the 1980s. Following the end of his playing career, Stuart went into the coaching side of the game with assistant manager roles at Stranraer and Ayr United, and a spell as head coach at Clyde. Combined with successful scouting positions at Ross County, Aberdeen, West Bromwich Albion and Dumbarton, these roles have allowed Stuart to build a vast network of contacts throughout the game.

 

Most recently, Stuart worked as Director of Football at Stranraer, a role he left earlier this month. With the tremendous experience that Stuart has to offer, we were delighted to offer him a similar position with Airdrieonians.

 

Stuart will work closely with manager Ian Murray, assisting in all football matters throughout the club. As well as providing an overview for the remainder of this season, planning is already underway for next season.

 

Stuart told airdriefc.com: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be back… Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in the press talking about living the dream with Manchester United - returning to Airdrie is my idea of living the dream! When I left 30-odd years ago I always hoped that I’d return one day and I really appreciate the opportunity. Everybody knows the passion that I have for Airdrieonians, and I’m delighted to be here.

 

“As Director of Football I’ll be involved in all footballing matters at the club, but I do believe there are two areas that someone in my position shouldn’t get involved with, and that’s coaching and team selection. We’ve got a more than capable manager who has played at the highest level, so he’ll get on with those jobs while I set about getting a structure in place at the club.

 

“We’re looking for improvement season-on-season, so we’ll work to restructure the scouting and recruitment side of things. There has to be a pathway from the academy to the reserves and from the reserves to the first team, and with everybody pulling in the right direction we can achieve success.

 

“I’d like to note my gratitude to Stranraer, I had five great years there in total and they’re a club I have a lot of affection for, but ultimately the time was right to move on. There were a number of clubs interested in speaking to me, but I had a meeting with the board here and I was blown away by their desire to bring me to the club.

 

“I also met Ian several times, and there was a rapport there - he’s a hardworking and honest manager, and I knew right away this was the job for me.”

 

Ian Murray and chairman Martin Ferguson welcomed Stuart to the Penny Cars Stadium this evening, and the Diamonds manager was pleased with the club’s new recruit.

 

“I'm quite used to working with a Director of Football, because all the clubs have them in Norway. It's a good structure because it allows the manager to concentrate on the coaching side of things.

 

"I'm delighted to get Stuart in, it's a fantastic boost for the club. Stuart's experience and contacts will be invaluable to us in an area we felt we could improve on, and to get someone of his calibre in the role is a major coup for us.”

 

Martin Ferguson added: “I'm very happy to welcome Stuart to the club, he'll be a massive help from the youth development right through to the first team. Clubs at our level can't rely on 'buying' players, so we have to set up a pathway to develop our own players, and I'm sure Stuart will do a very good job for us.”