Gary Naysmith: New Stenhousemuir boss says first short-term goal is to 'stop his side shipping goals'

Naysmith, 44, took charge of the Warriors on Tuesday evening, and he will be joined by ex-Stenny boss Brown Ferguson, who will be his assistant manager.

The 46-time Scotland cap left FC Edinburgh in March, despite having the club in the League 2 promotion play-off spots at that time.

Former boss Stephen Swift left the club in December after a seven game winless run saw the Ochilview side slumped in mid-table.

Naysmith told the Falkirk Herald: “You have to set short-term targets when you consider the club’s current position. I find myself in charge of the team because something previously has clearly gone wrong, and I need to fix that quickly. We need to work towards getting towards that top end of the table but first and foremost we have to stop shipping so many goals.

"That is the immediate aim and we want to win a couple of games on the bounce to build up some sort of momentum. I have watched every goal the team has conceded in the league and some of them have certainly come from errors and they could have been avoided. There are seven or eight reasons why the team are losing goals, it doesn’t just come from defending at the back, it starts from the front.

"We have a good group here but I do want to add a few over the coming weeks to help us out. Collectively we need to be better and I include everyone in that. If we keep conceding so many goals we won’t get anywhere."

Naysmith’s previous club Edinburgh have kicked on since his departure in March, winning an unlikely promotion to League One. When he left the Citizens back in March, the side were in the promotion play-off positions despite winning only two games in seven matches.

The new Stenny boss believes that the Warriors are also more than capable of completing a similar feat under his stewardship.

“I have been very impressed with everything going on behind the scenes here at Stenny,” Naysmith said. “For League Two level it is very professional and it did surprise me a little. They have so many things in place that teams further up do not actually have. Success is very achievable.

"My job is to get the team right on the pitch because the stuff going on off it is actually very good and the potential is there. However, we do need to take small steps. We need a result against a Stranraer side above us currently in the league. But there is only a small gap between us and the top end of the league."

On the return of Brown Ferguson to the Warriors, Naysmith added: “It is great that Brown is held in high regard here. Sometimes when you manage a team it can go the other way, I think the fan realise what he gave to the club as a player and as the club's manager.

"I said to the board at the interview stage that I wanted to bring him back because of his connection with the club, but more importantly, because he is an excellent coach on the training pitch.

"We worked well together in our short time at Edinburgh.”