Weir feels benefit of Meadow stroll

Published on Friday 6 November 2009 22:59

JIM Weir was due a slice of luck, albeit little did he know it would arrive at a Junior football ground.

The basic passion of the new Arbroath manager for football had seen him turn out for Perth side Bankfoot United both at the tail end of last and the onset of this season. Weir featured in a 1-0 Junior Cup defeat to Irvine Meadow last month; on 28 November, Arbroath will face the very same opposition in the tournament's senior equivalent.

"I was just being a daft old man, playing football at 40," Weir smiled yesterday. "I have pals at Bankfoot and said I would help them out; it kept my fitness up as well. I played half-a-dozen games for them at the end of last season and about the same at the start of this one.

"Of course, I didn't think anything of it at the time, but that Irvine game will prove handy. It's funny how things work out in football; I was just out there at the time because it is the game I love."

Weir had spent the last 14 months outside of senior football for the first time in 25 years, by his own admission a culture shock for the former Hamilton, Hearts and St Johnstone defender. An acrimonious split from Montrose, who he had guided to third place in Division Three at the time, triggered that spell in exile; Weir only settled matters with the Links Park outfit in May.

"It has been a tough period," he confessed. "I did some match reports for other clubs, but I have always had a desire to get into coaching and have my Uefa Pro-Licence. You don't spend that time and money on something if you don't want to get back into the game.

"At times, it seemed as if that was not possible, there were not a great deal of opportunities. I am delighted to get this opportunity, delighted Arbroath have given me a chance and delighted I am going to be working for good people, which is very important to me."

He remains unwilling to discuss the cause or factors behind that departure from Montrose, instead adamant he will grab a return to management with both hands. If Weir has any lingering bitterness towards those at Montrose, he can at least take solace from the fact he is now operating a league above his former employers.

Admirably, the former St Johnstone captain is not one for might-have-beens. After more than a decade in Perth, he was assistant manager to Owen Coyle when opting to take on the, ultimately ill-fated, Montrose role.

"Owen went to the Premiership and I could always wonder if I could have gone as well, or if I would have inherited the St Johnstone job," Weir explained. "But that is not my style. Using hindsight, people have said I made the wrong decision, but I wanted to be my own man. I am glad I did that, even if things went the other way for me. I don't think about being at St Johnstone or even going back to manage St Johnstone; they are an excellent club who did a lot for me, but my job is to do my work for the board and supporters of Arbroath."

Life outside of football, which Weir describes as "being with real people", involves designing and selling bathrooms. Such work may seem a lifetime away from what Weir's playing career had promised, the defender having been heavily linked with a move to a top English side before Hearts prized him from Hamilton in 1993. "I am a people person – that's why the job suits me. I love dealing with people every day," he said. "It's just that the phone has been going off a lot more since I got the Arbroath job."

Weir, who will be assisted by trusted friend Kevin McGowne at Gayfield, disputes the notion taking over Arbroath, currently at the foot of the league, means the only way is up. "People forget we could drop down another league yet," the new manager warned. His tenure opens with a tricky visit to Angus neighbours Brechin City. "We seem to have picked up better results away from home. This is a tough start, but we are in a tight league and, already from what I have seen, we have the squad to get us moving in the right direction again."

There is no suggestion, Weir stresses, that he will replicate his Bankfoot days. "I think I could still play in the Second Division," he said. "But I have absolutely no intention of doing so. I might register as a player, help out in reserve or bounce games if needed, but that is it."

Not even a reunion with Meadow, it seems, will change that policy.