In a very informative meeting at East End Park hosted by Steven Mill, Ross McArthur updated supporters of the club about future plans for the Pars.
New CEO
Dunfermline announced that there will be a new CEO arriving at the club in early 2022. With experience north and south of the border, working with clubs such as Nottingham Forest, Everton and Celtic, David Cook will be a real asset to the club with the bags of experience already under his belt. A Pars fan too, said Ross McArthur who has known him for eight years.
David Cook while working with Nottingham Forest (credit: littlefish)
New DAFC Academy
Now announced by the club, Dunfermline have received confirmation from the SFA for their new academy, which will commence in January 2022. The plan is to scout young players from nearby boys clubs alongside the many already on their way to the Pars thanks to the Fife Elite academy, which is now folding. The chairman also stressed that education will be a big part too, and partnerships with local schools are in the pipeline.
Training Facilities
It was also confirmed that there has been an agreement with Civil Service Sports Club to take control of their current site on Rosyth, which will give the club a new lease of life says Ross McArthur. Aiming to be fully or partially operational by next summer, the plans for the new training base sound simply stunning for a club the stature of Dunfermline.
In a club statement yesterday evening, the details included:
Two full size grass pitches
Warm up and Goalkeeper areas
3G Astro pitch, with fencing and floodlights Strength & Conditioning Gym will be relocated from East End Park
Education and Analysis auditorium
Changing rooms and showers for first team Changing rooms and showers for Academy/Pars Foundation
Offices, meeting rooms
Kit room, laundry and boot room
Indoor Sports Hall
Kitchen
Eating and rest area
Since then, DAFC chairman Ross McArthur has said:
“Firstly, I would like to thank the Civil Service Sports Club and their Estates Team for their help, support and understanding in making this a reality. Once the facility is fully developed it will bring together the first team, our newly formed Youth Academy as well as the Pars Foundation all on one site. This creates a real identity for our club and develops the DAFC and Pars Foundation brand further into the local community of Rosyth and West Fife. At the same time, we are conscious of the replacement Inverkeithing High School being built nearby, and we hope to build further educational links for young people in helping them develop as young people, as well as young footballers.”
Civil Service Sports Club, Dunfermline’s new training base (credit: Dunfermline Press)
Thomas Meggle
There was some light shed on the role of Sporting Director Thomas Meggle, it was said that he has helped the management team with scouting, recruitment and analysis, there to support the football side of the club.
It was also said however, that although the plan was to utilise Meggle’s extensive contacts in Europe, that due to Brexit the points needed in a contract for a work permit to be approved for a club the stature of Dunfermline would be unrealistic, minimising any chances of seeing foreign players come into the club.
Manager John Hughes and Nick Teller, a financial investor into the club were also in attendance and took questions from the 150 in the Purvis Suite on Wednesday night. John spoke on the footballing side of things, saying that Lewis Martin’s contract has indeed expired, but the club will continue to support him in his rehab. He also said that Mark Connolly’s loan, initially until January, could well be extended until the end of the season, however only at the right price. If that’s not the case, the club will look elsewhere for a replacement centre back for Connolly, who has been a rock at the back in the short amount of time he has been at the club.
New gaffer John Hughes and sporting director Thomas Meggle (credit: DAFC)
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