Darren Taylor appointed first team coach
Greenock Morton Football Club are pleased to confirm the appointment of former Brechin City, Raith Rovers, and Dundee United backroom staff member Darren Taylor as first team coach.
The 47-year-old former Montrose player has served as Ray McKinnon’s right-hand man since his days as boss at junior club Lochee United.
And after working with McKinnon during his managerial stints at Glebe Park, Stark’s Park, and Tannadice, Taylor is thrilled to link up with him again in Greenock.
Speaking to media officer Jonathan Mitchell, he said: “I’m delighted. It’s a great honour to be joining Morton Football Club and great being back with the manager, who I’ve worked with for a number of years now.
“I’m particulaly pleased that him and I are reunited and at a great club like Morton. Our friendship goes back 30 years plus; professionally, in football, it’s around 15 years.
“The manager was working at the SFA at the time and I was scouting with him, looking at Scotland Under-21 games, and when he left that to take up the role at Brechin, I joined him as first team coach.
“Similarly, when he got the Raith Rovers job and the Dundee United job, I followed him from there on. We work very well – and long may it continue.”
When asked how he would describe their working relationship as a management team, he explained: “We’re close and he trusts me, but the boundaries are there. He’s the boss and always has been the boss.
“Any team I’ve worked at would see me as the go-between with the squad. I wouldn’t say it’s good cop, bad cop, because he’s always very popular with his players.
“But what I would say is that I have a good rapport with the players. Ray knows how to make the players tick, and I play a role in that.
“In terms of training, I’m there to assist him. I’ll be involved in every session, but he is very much a training-pitch coach. That’s what he really, really enjoys and takes the bull by the horns. He’s very much hands on.”
In terms of the season ahead, Taylor said: “We’re very excited. We’ve recruited well, have a fantastic bunch of players, and we’re looking to add in another three or four areas, if we can.
“We’ll be competitive and look to set a marker down. We want to be successful and we’re absolutely hell-bent on winning every game that we play in.”
Image: Gary Bradley
