Hibs legend John Brownlie confident he can keep Berwick Rangers in SPFL

At the age of 67, Hibs legend and former Scotland internationalist John Brownlie has just signed up for one of the most formidable challenges of his long career in football.
John Brownlie has never been fazed by a challengeJohn Brownlie has never been fazed by a challenge
John Brownlie has never been fazed by a challenge

Some 47 years after famously helping Turnbull’s Tornadoes bring the League Cup to Easter Road in 1972, and 16 years after his last managerial posting at Arbroath, Brownlie has been charged with the unenviable task of stopping Berwick Rangers freefalling out of League Two.

After the Wee Rangers were consigned to bottom place in the fourth tier, it was announced last Thursday – 48 hours before their final league fixture away to Elgin City – that Brownlie, who wound down his illustrious playing career at Shielfield in the 1985/86 campaign, would take over from Johnny Harvey in a desperate attempt to stop the club slipping into the non-league ranks via the play-off.

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The former Hibs right-back, who was inducted to the club’s Hall of Fame in 2017, will have to draw on all his experience if he is to defy the odds and steer beleaguered Berwick to safety. Since mid-November, the Borderers have won only one of their 24 matches and have lost 19 of them. They have lost their last seven in succession by an aggregate score of 22-0. A squad put together on a shoestring is bereft of confidence. Somehow Brownlie – assisted by former Berwick player and manager Ian Little – must find a way to overcome an upwardly-mobile Cove Rangers who finished eight points clear of Brora Rangers at the top of the Highland League and then defeated Lowland League champions East Kilbride 5-1 on aggregate in the play-off semi-final.

John Brownlie made 307 appearances for HibsJohn Brownlie made 307 appearances for Hibs
John Brownlie made 307 appearances for Hibs

It will be a major surprise if the Aberdeenshire side don’t prevail over two legs, the first of which takes place this Saturday before the return at Shielfield a week later.

“It’s a big test because we’re in this position as we’ve not been doing very well,” Brownlie told the Evening News.

“It won’t be easy. All you can do is try and put a smile on the players’ faces and get them organised. It’s very difficult to do any more than that when you’ve got so little time with them. You can get one or two wee ideas across and change one or two things but that’s all you can do.

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“I’m well aware of how the season’s gone for Berwick. Their record speaks for itself, and I’ve been to a few matches myself. We’ll see what happens – strange things happen in football. The pressure’s on but we can only try our best.”

In the present era of promoting young coaches with new ideas, it is increasingly rare to see a man of Brownlie’s age wheeled out to the front line in such critical times. Although Brownlie has remained involved in football as a scout with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, when Terry Butcher was in charge, and more recently Carlisle United, he concedes he didn’t anticipate ever being asked to manage a team again.

His last management job at Arbroath ended in 2003. Prior to that, Brownlie had spells in charge of Cowdenbeath, Meadowbank Thistle and East Stirlingshire. “It’s a weird situation,” he acknowledged. “I’m just in here to help. I’ve got some very good friends at Berwick who asked me if I’d fancy the challenge. It’s not often somebody like me gets asked to do something like this these days so I just decided to give it a go and try and help them. I thought my time in management had passed me by because of my age and everything else. The game’s a bit different now. But I thought if I can help somebody out, that would be great.

“If we can stay in the league, it would be very, very satisfying, I’ll tell you that. It would be very nice for the friends I have down at Berwick so it would mean a lot. There are some good people at Berwick and that’s why I stepped in to do this for them.”

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Brownlie is realistic enough not to make any bold proclamations about what his team may be capable of against Cove but he feels some basic tweaks can give them a fighting chance of retaining their league status.

“I’ve basically got one or two training sessions to try and save Berwick’s season. You’ve got to earn the respect of the players. You’ve just got to lay it on the line, tell them what you want from them and tell them that if they do as you ask, they’ve got a better chance of winning. The signs in training have been good so far.

“They’re a smashing set of lads but they need a good bit of guidance. It’s just a case of trying to freshen it up and get a reaction. I think I can get a response out of them but I’ve not seen Cove in the flesh. We’ve had them watched. It’s just a matter of getting them organised and, if they’ve got a bit of pride, I’m sure we can give it a good go.”