Dumbarton FC: Manager Stevie Farrell says return to the Rock was natural move

The 48-year-old joins the club from League Two side Stranraer and takes over from Jim Duffy, who left the club last week.

‘Faz’ is a familiar face at The Rock, having spent time as assistant to Stevie Aitken between May 2015 and January 2017, when the club were in the Championship.

The new Sons boss makes the move weeks after leading Stranraer to the end-of-season play-offs, where they lost out 1-0 to Dumbarton in a closely-contested semi-final.

He is keen to hit the ground running and said he was left impressed by the way Dumbarton officials conducted their business when making the move for their man.

Stevie Farrell makes the move from League Two side Stranraer four-and-a-half years after leaving The Rock to take up the Stair Park hot seat (Photo - Andy Scott)

Speaking in his first media conference in the role, he said: “First and foremost, the professional manner in which the contract was made goes a long way.

“The manner in which Dumbarton made the approach was the right and proper way.

“It made it easier because I knew this club. I probably wouldn’t have left had Stranraer not come calling the first time, because I was enjoying my time at the club."

READ MORE: Jim Duffy leaves Dumbarton after club secures League One status

Farrell's appointment comes weeks after the majority shareholding in the club was bought by Cognitive Capital Ltd, led by architect Matthew Atkinson and sales director Henning Kristoffersen.

The new owners hope to bring full-time football back to Dumbarton, to get the club back to the Championship, and to revive plans to build a new stadium at Young's Farm to the west of the town.

Farrell continued: “When I spoke to the guys at the club we shared the same vision of where we wanted to go, of our footballing ambitions and personal ambitions.

“Everything was aligned to where we want to try and move towards. It was an easy decision in the end and one that I’m glad is now over the line.

“If you look at the structure of the club, it’s a fantastic club and a great beginning with new owners.”

Farrell was previously boss at Stranraer and led his team to the League One play-offs, where they lost 1-0 to Dumbarton in a closely-contested semi-final (Pic - Andy Scott)

After being appointed on Saturday afternoon, Farrell and his assistant Frank McKeown got to work straight away, making the first steps to try and put a squad together for next season.

PJ Crossan, Ross Forbes and Nat Wedderburn had all left the club before Farrell's arrival, and Morgyn Neill and Rico Quitongo have also told the new boss their futures lie elsewhere.

Joshua Bradley-Hurst, Daniel Church, Ruaridh Langan and Robert Jones were all told they would not be offered contracts.

READ MORE: New Dumbarton owners set out plans for the club after takeover is completed

Offers have been made to the remaining six players from last season’s squad, with just Ryan McGeever currently signed up for the next two seasons.

It's expected that one of those six will commit to another season at the club this week, while former midfielder Andy Geggan rejoined the Sons on a one-year deal on Wednesday.

Faz admits he is in for a busy couple of weeks ahead of pre-season training starting on June 12 but will only sign the right kind of player for the club.

He said: “We know we’ve lost a few players; before we got here, deals were tied up, and that’s football.

“We just need to make sure that we use our contacts, and those contacts started on Saturday afternoon, the minute we agreed to come here.

Farrell was assistant boss to Stevie Aitken at Dumbarton from May 2015 to January 2017

“I’ve got a meeting tonight and another two tomorrow and that’s probably what it’s going to be like for the next week or so with players and agents.

“Building squads is something I’ve done for ten years between the Championship and League Two so it’s nothing new to me. I’m sure we will build the appropriate squad and get the numbers in that we need and be ready for the start of the season.

"What’s most important is how important a player is, and how much he wants to come to this football club, and how we can progress him and make him a better player.”

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