Falkirk will demand next appointment protects legacy

Published on Tuesday 9 June 2009 22:52

FALKIRK will charge their new manager with protecting and advancing John Hughes' 'legacy' at the club, according to managing director George Craig.

The Bairns held a board meeting last night to formally begin the search for a new manager following Hughes' departure for former club Hibernian on Monday afternoon.

However, with the 44-year-old having previously been linked with other vacancies, Craig has confessed he had been preparing himself for some time for the day he would be looking for Hughes' successor.

The likes of Steven Pressley, John Hartson, Ian McCall, Alex Rae, Jim Jefferies, Gordon Chisholm and Jackie McNamara and Neil McCann are all thought to be under consideration by the Westfield outfit, who need to act fast as they prepare for their European bow on 16 July with nine players out of contract.

However, Craig believes the new man will have a tough act to follow after six years of progress on and off the pitch during Hughes' six-year reign, when the club established themselves as an SPL outfit and moved into a new stadium and a state-of-the-art training facility at Stirling University.

He said: "When John has been making noises, as he has been in the past few months, that it was maybe time for him to spread his wings then obviously I started to realise I may be looking for a new manager quite soon.

"I've been aware of this, so it's now my job to start going forward for the club. First and foremost, we have got to protect Yogi's legacy here, the infrastructure that we've built up. But John would be the first to say we could not have enjoyed sustained success here at Falkirk without the infrastructure.

"Going on from there, we need to find someone who can come in and take us on, developing in a way that the supporters are happy with. Given how established we are as an SPL club, I'm sure I won't be short of candidates."

Meanwhile, midfielder Arnau Riera insists remaining at Falkirk is his 'first option'.

The former Barcelona B captain, who has been on loan at Falkirk for the past two seasons, is available on a free after his deal with English Premier League side Sunderland expired. Riera is one of nine out-of-contract players, but is eager to stay.