Former Aberdeen star Zander Diamond in for Albion Rovers job as over 100 apply

The club's bid to replace Kevin Harper steps up after applications closed over the weekend

Albion Rovers have received over 100 applications for the vacant manager’s role – with former Aberdeen defender Zander Diamond among the contenders.

Lanarkshire Live Sports understands the 35-year-old, who spent eight years at Pittodrie, is ready to take on his first senior coaching role and believes Cliftonhill could be the place to kick-off his management career.

Currently under-16s coach at Queen's Park, the former Scotland under-21 international spent much of his career in England's lower leagues, with spells at Oldham, Burton Albion, Northampton Town and Mansfield Town before he was forced to retire due to injury in 2018.

Diamond is just one of the names being considered after Rovers were inundated with applications.

Ex-Rovers skippers Jamie McKenzie and Mick Dunlop, as well as Airdrieonians legend Jimmy Boyle are also understood to be among those bidding to become Kevin Harper’s successor.

Harper quit earlier this month after turning down a new contract on reduced terms and a shortlist to replace him was drawn up on Monday after a club meeting via video call.

Interviews via video could take place next week and an appointment made in due course, with a view to the successful applicant starting when the coronavirus lockdown is fully lifted and the first team becomes operational again.

Rovers club secretary, Colin Woodward, said: “We’ve had 103 applications for the position, with quite a few from foreign climes and quite a few very qualified candidates.

“But it would be unfair to make any further comment than that.

“There’s not too many people busy at the moment, so hopefully we will be able to decide on an interview timetable soon.

“The new manager will be coming in to an even bigger challenge than it would have been before the shutdown.

“At the moment, there is no pathway out of this situation.”

Meanwhile, as Rovers continue their search for a manager they must now also deal with the expiry of player contracts on June 1.

A number of clubs in the SPFL, including Dunfermline, have already announced a large number of their players will not have their contracts renewed due to the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Woodward added: “If you take the manager out of the situation, there’s still players that we need to sort.

“There’s 35 on the books and 19 of them are semi-pros, if you like, on a wage.

“But we can’t pay wages if we’ve got no money coming in.”

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