Exclusive: New Edinburgh City Alan Maybury reveals tough remit and explains why things are familiar

Edinburgh City's new interim manager Alan Maybury has revealed he is very familiar with the squad he has inherited from his predecessor.

The former Hearts and Hibs full-back has been given the job until at least the end of the season after Gary Naysmith was sacked last Thursday, despite the club sitting fourth in cinch League Two and on course for the play-offs.

Maybury, aged 43, has previous coaching experience with the Hibees, as well as Falkirk, St Johnstone and Kilmarnock, where he left in January.

However, this is his first foray into management.

And in an exclusive interview with the Edinburgh Evening News, Maybury revealed there were more than a few familiar faces at his first training session at Oriam on Wednesday night.

“There are very few guys in the squad who I haven’t come across before,” he said. “I’ve worked with a lot of the players at various stages, going back to Danny Handling when we were both at Hibs, I had John Robertson and Ciaran Brian when I was at St Johnstone, so there’s a lot of them I know.

“We had our first training session on Wednesday and all I did was put a quick couple of points across. There won't be much change, just really a different voice. There’s been a lot of good things to get to this point already, so we need to build on it.

“The remit is still very much to get promoted. We want success and want to do it as quickly as we can. If we can do it this year, then even better. I know a lot of the good work that has gone on in the background over the last couple of years, so I need to try to keep that moving forward.

Alan Maybury, who was appointed as a coach at Kilmarnock last summer, will take charge of Edinburgh City initially until the end of the season.

“I've kept an eye on things since leaving Kilmarnock, so if something did happen then I was ready to go.

“I’ve been out and about watching Championship, League One and Two games, because you never know who you might bump into.

“When Edinburgh City decided to change manager last week, I wasn’t really sure what they wanted to do.

“I spoke to a few people last weekend and put my application in on Monday.

“The owner and the chairman came back to me, we had a chat and yeah, I'm delighted to be given the opportunity until the end of the season.

“It’s a good club. It’s not often you get an opportunity when a club is in such a good position. We need to keep it going in these last six games and see what we can do.”

Maybury has brought in Mark Kerr as his number two and the duo will travel north today in hope of securing their first three points against Elgin.

“Mark was the only person I really thought of to be honest,” Maybury said. “He’s someone with experience, but I wasn’t sure what his plans were. I spoke to him, he was keen and he will be a big help to me. He’s had that experience of being a manager. I’ve known him a long time – I don’t want someone who will just agree with everything, I want to be challenged.

“I've got the opportunity to manage at a good club now and hope to make the most of it. I suppose results over the next month or two will determine what the club does at the end of the season.”

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