Full-time football will return to the Penny Cars Stadium next season as Airdrieonians adopt a hybrid model which will see a playing squad made up of a mixture of part-time and full-time players.

 

Following talks between directors and management, Director of Football Stuart Millar was delighted to announce the move, which he sees as a massive boost to the club’s future ambitions.

 

He told airdriefc.com: “One of my initial proposals to improve the structure of the club was a hybrid system, and the board have been very supportive of the idea.

 

“To progress as a club, we feel that we need to implement a full-time playing environment. We have a full-time manager, and we will now bring in some full-time players.

 

“We will always have part-time players, and we hope that the new model will allows us to cherry-pick the best of those available. We understand that full-time football is not for everybody in today’s environment - but having a number of full-time players at the club allows the manager to implement his vision.

 

“The ratio of part-time to full-time squad members is a detail we are still ironing out, but we’re looking at a good range of full-time youth and experience.

 

“It’s exciting news for the club - it’s proven successful in the past at clubs like Raith Rovers and Hamilton Academical, and it gives us an extra advantage as we look to make our ambitions a reality.

 

“I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen in my short time here - across the squads we have a lot of talented, hard-working coaches and enthusiastic players with plenty of ability - and we’re already working to improve other facets like the scouting network and performance analysis.

 

“There are a lot of positive things going on, and I hope this latest announcement will prove to be a huge step for the club.”

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Manager Ian Murray added: "It's an opportunity for players, especially younger players, to develop in a good environment.

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"We have to make sure we get the right players, but it gives us an opportunity to attract people to the club that we otherwise wouldn't be able to.

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"It's proven to be a successful model at other clubs in the past, so there's no reason it can't be for us."