NEW Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts boss Pat Scullion wants to “build on the good work” of his predecessor after making his first appointments in his new role.

The 36-year-old, who joined the club in 2020, has taken over from Grant Brough, who will continue in another role within the club.

Former Burntisland Shipyard manager Brough, who succeeded Lee Duffy in 2019, and guided the Swifts to a 10th-place finish in the East of Scotland League, Premier Division, in the season just finished, will retain his post of head of senior football after stepping aside as first-team manager because of personal commitments.

Experienced former Cowdenbeath, Alloa Athletic and Clyde defender Scullion, who started his career with Dunfermline, has been handed the reins and he has moved to bolster his backroom team.

Mark Leslie, who is involved in the Scotland national side’s backroom staff, becomes his assistant manager, with Jamie Stephen, who was, likewise, already part of the club’s coaching set-up, will continue as goalkeeping coach.

Graham Miller, head coach of the Swifts’ 2017s and who has known Scullion for around 15 years, has been appointed first-team coach, while experienced manager John Coughlin has been brought in in a supporting role.

The former St Mirren boss managed Scullion at both Berwick Rangers and Stenhousemuir, with the club noting that “he will be able to pass on his fantastic knowledge of the game to the coaching team and players”.

Scullion said: “I am thankful to be given the opportunity by the club and the aim is to build on the good work that has been done on the pitch last season.

“It’s great to have the coaching team in place, all guys that I have known and worked with before.

“We start back on June 20 for pre-season (my 21st) and I can’t wait to get back to work with the boys. We have a great group of lads that are all hungry to keep moving the club forward.”

Meanwhile, Swifts secretary Ronnie Jamieson has praised the team for “really punching above our weight” during an impressive campaign, which also saw them reach the Alex Jack Cup quarter-finals.

“We’ve had a really good season this year,” Jamieson noted.

“We stayed up in the Premier League obviously; we ended up 10th in the league, which is testament to the players. Greig Spence scored over 40 goals, and he’s the Premier League’s top scorer by a bit of a margin.

“I think we were probably everybody’s favourite to get relegated at the start of the season, given the budget we work from, and the kind of teams – the likes of your Tranents, your Penicuiks – that are run as almost semi-professional teams, so we were really punching above our weight.

“We could’ve ended up as high as seventh or eighth near the end but just a couple of results didn’t go (our way). It’s been a fantastic season.”

Elsewhere, Crossgates Primrose saw their scheduled final game of the season last Saturday (May 28) cancelled.

The Humbug Park outfit had been due to host Nithsdale Wanderers in the final match of the round-robin ‘Cup Winners Shield’, which also included Drumchapel United.

It pitched Crossgates, Alex Jack Cup winners, against the clubs that won the Southern Counties FA’s Alba Cup, and the West of Scotland Football League’s Strathclyde Demolition Cup, against each other to earn a place in the senior Scottish Cup.

But, with Drumchapel winning the shield by beating both Primrose and Nithsdale, the final match was a dead-rubber, and was cancelled subsequently.