Published: Thursday, 28th May, 2009 11:50am

Wright man for the job

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PARS are looking for Stephen Wright to shape the next generation of Pars" stars after he was appointed as the head of youth development.

He"ll switch from first team coach to overhaul the youth set-up, with Hamish French stepping down, but the club"s Under-19s will go part-time next season.

Wright, who joined the Pars in January 2008 when Jim McIntyre took over as boss, was previously an academy coach for Rangers at Murray Park.

In a club statement he said, 'I"m delighted to be taking up the role. It"s an honour to be given such an important role at the club.'

McIntyre told Press Sport, 'Stephen will have his hands full with the new role but I hope that once it settles down we"ll have him as part of the first team set-up.

'It"s a very demanding role and one that he"s desperate to get stuck into and there will be a few changes in the backroom staff.'

He continued, 'Hamish was doing the role but he didn"t enjoy it and it wasn"t something he wanted to do so we"re thankful he took it on in the first place.

'He wants to concentrate on coaching and the Under-19s will be part-time now so he"s thinking over the possibility of doing that on a part-time basis.

'Hamish has been a great servant to the club, he"s been superb with me, so hopefully he"ll stay on in some capacity.'

Craig McWhirter, director of youth development, said, 'The appointment of Stephen as head of youth development should send out a sign that the club intends to significantly strengthen the youth programme.

'It is not simply a re-shuffle of coaching staff, it is a strategic appointment.

'Stephen has had great experience working within the youth programme at Rangers, with very well respected people such as George Adams, and is held in very high regard.

'He will bring a lot of discipline, structure and focus to the programme and will provide a much smoother transition from the senior youth squads to the reserves and first team setups.'

McWhirter said that the club had recently been given provisional acceptance to next year"s performance league after a successful audit from the SFA.

And he added, 'There is a lot of work to be done, but I am convinced that Stephen will be a tremendous appointment for many years to come and will succeed in providing the club with a strong stream of young talent.'