Bollan The Builder... The Second Half

With his playing days behind him, Gary made his first sortie into coaching when he was appointed Head of Youth Development at Clyde in 2007. Once again Gary found himself in the middle of a managerial merry-go-round when he and fellow coach, Dougie Bell, were asked to take the first team on the departure of Colin Hendry before John Brown was appointed Clyde's manager. Reported financial difficulties at Broadwood led to the end of this coaching role in 2009.

In August 2009, Gary became the new manager of his former team, Livingston, joining at a challenging time for the Almondvale side. Shortly after his appointment, Livingston were demoted to the bottom tier of Scottish football, paying the penalty for breaching the SFL's insolvency rules. For Gary he simply had to get on with the job at hand. "I had to take care of the football side and I couldn't let anything else affect what I needed to do on the field. My assistant was Scott Paterson who had been at United with me. We were full-time and expectations were high because as the only full-time team in the league you are the one everyone wants to beat and we were expected to win the league easily. We managed to overcome the pressure and win back-to-back promotions. I am very proud of that achievement."

With an enviable win rate Gary was shocked to be asked to leave the club in 2012. It is easy to see why this decision would come as a bombshell to the management team. While Livingston had the advantage of being full-time Gary had taken the troubled side from the Third Division to the First Division with back-to-back automatic promotions which was surely his key target. The promotion in Gary's first season in 2009-10 came with a 15 point margin over second placed Forfar who would go on to win promotion via the play-offs. During his time at Livingston Gary won a number of SFL Manager of the Month awards and presided over the West Lothian club's highest points' tally (82) and highest goals scored (79) in 2010-11. Livingston cited Gary's alleged failure to develop young players as their reason for his dismissal. Most in the football world were astonished at his sacking and Gary admits that while he has put it behind him, a slight sour taste still remains. "When Scott and I left we were sitting comfortably in the First Division – just having come through two automatic promotions. The club was in a good place and so it obviously came as a real surprise to go from being in a full-time job on the Sunday morning to unemployed by the end of the day. It was a tough period and – yes I admit - I am probably still a little bit bitter at the way things unfolded but it has made me stronger. It showed me that in football you must have people around you that you can trust. Since then I have made sure I work with people that I trust and I certainly have got that at Forfar in my current backroom team and in the Chairman and Directors. My family gave me enormous support during that time, particularly my wife Lesley, which got me through those days. Now and then I do wonder if the people involved in the decision realise looking back they made a mistake but I have moved on."

One positive memory from those days was giving a certain Michael Travis his Livingston debut. Back then Gary recognised the young defender's talent and commitment which continues to shine through for the Loons today. It was a blow for Gary to lose Michael due to injury. "It was a real shame that Michael picked up a serious injury not long after I joined Forfar. I want players that will run through brick walls and give everything - Michael is that type of player. I could see his determination at Livingston and that desire is still there and I look forward to having him back in squad in the future."

Gary spent the months after leaving Livingston in scouting roles to ensure he remained in touch with the world of Scottish football. While others might have enjoyed the, albeit enforced, time away from the pressures of the game, for someone described as 'living and breathing football' it was a challenge. Gary gives a rueful laugh when he talks about how he relaxes away from football. "I enjoy a game of golf … well maybe enjoy is not the word because I am not the best at it and so I get frustrated! I also enjoy a day at the races and keep busy during the week with a part-time driving job for Dundee-based Scott Brothers butchers which allows me to combine work with the demands of the Forfar management role."

It is obvious that Gary's family are important to him and their support was invaluable during the difficult months following his time at Livingston as it continues to be today. His family share his love of football which goes back to his dad, Ian, who played local amateur football and his grandfather, a bus driver who played for the Scotland Bus Drivers' national team. Gary is based in Monikie with Lesley, a Project Manager for Barnardo's Works Scotland, and son Luc who is following in his dad's football boots by recently signing with the Dundee United U-17s team. Gary is equally proud of daughter, Mya, a law student at Dundee University. "My family were supportive of me playing football but I was never forced into it as a career. I decided myself what I wanted to do and they supported me through it all. I hope that I am the same with my children. I am really fortunate to have a close family and my dad and mum, Margaret, come to most games, home and away, along with Lesley, Luc and Mya when she can. Although Luc is a Dundee United fan at heart he supports me home and away which means a great deal to me."

Eighteen months after leaving Almondvale the call Gary had been hoping for came from Airdrieonians Chairman, Jim Ballantyne, and he was appointed manager in October 2013. Gary was joined at the Diamonds by his current assistant Stuart Balmer whom he had played alongside at Clyde back in the mid-2000s. On joining the Lanarkshire club it was bottom of the league but after a settling in period and some re-building of the squad, Gary led the team to a strong finish losing only one game in their last 16 (to Rangers) and finishing in sixth place, securing League One status with two games to spare. In the following season, Airdrieonians narrowly missed out on a top four spot. "When I went into Airdrie everyone had us dead and buried. I think we were nine points adrift but after January when we had sorted things out and got players in we managed to turn things around and ended up not too far off the play-offs so there was a great deal of improvement."

Fast forward to December 2015, when Forfar were looking for a new manager, what led Gary to move from North Lanarkshire to Angus? "I was still under contract at Airdrie when I received a call from Forfar to ask permission to speak to me which was granted. I spoke with Alastair (Donald) and David (McGregor) and after hearing what they said about the club and how they wanted to take it forward I was enthusiastic about the role as was Stuart. I used to get a great welcome from the people at Forfar and even on just meeting them I got a feeling this was a club with a lot of good people behind the scenes. People like Martin (Gray) and Linda (Craik) are the backbone of the club. Forfar has a family feel but at the same time is very professional. At some part-time clubs the players have to look after their own training gear and boots whereas at Forfar this is taken care of for you. Forfar are due a lot of credit for how they operate - at training and on match days everyone tries to do everything as professionally as they can and act like a full-time club. I also believed I could build a good relationship with Alastair and the other directors and I believe we can, and are, working hard to turn things around as club."

Gary's coaching team comprises Dollar-based Stuart Balmer who was at Celtic before playing well over 200 times for Charlton and making over a century of appearances for Wigan. Further spells in the English leagues followed before Stuart returned to Scotland including a spell in the management team at Ross County helping the Staggies to win promotion to the SPL. Ian Flaherty who Gary knew from his days at Carnoustie Panmure and Development squad coach Barry Sellars make up the coaching team. "We have a great deal of trust among our team and we are all very experienced in the game. Stuart spent most of his playing career in the English leagues and between us we have a strong network of contacts - so if there is anything we need to know whether it is north or south of the border we have it covered. It is obviously difficult to bring part-time players up from England but it is good to have another perspective which Stuart provides. Barry deserves great credit for his work with the Development squad which won the East league last season and has been successful again this year."

Touching on the departure of Chris Templeman, who Gary knew from his spell a Brechin, Gary is quite candid. "I spoke to Chris about his career and I felt he deserved honesty given the professional way he conducts himself on and off the football field. I said to Chris that I knew what it was like to be coming to the end of your career when you want to play as much as you can and we couldn't guarantee that for him. I think he appreciated me being open with him and allowing him to move on (to Montrose)."

In terms of arrivals, Gary used the January transfer window to good effect snapping up out of contract former Scottish Premiership players Andy Ryan, Gareth Rodger and Darren Hill along with Euan Spark on loan from Dundee United. These were followed by the signing of the experienced Steven Craig to add even more goals to the side and, most recently, Scott Smith who Gary worked with at Airdrie, joining to help bolster the injury-depleted squad. "A key part of a good manager's job is knowing who's available and finding out if there is an interest in coming to your club. Then, of course, you have to persuade them to come. I knew we needed proven goalscorers and so I am really pleased that goals are coming from Andy and Steven. It is important to make out-of-contract players feel wanted and to encourage them on the next step of their journey. Hopefully the conversations that I had with the lads did that – I suppose they must have as they signed on!"

So far there have been a number of high points in Gary's 17 games in charge. The February performance against Cowdenbeath stands out with four goals scored away from home but Gary believes the midweek Airdrie game marked the real turnaround when the team played really well and should have taken more than a point from that game. It was a similar situation at home to Cowdenbeath when the Loons were again on top but only managed another draw. In recent weeks the impressive wins against Ayr and Peterhead have given everyone a boost as did taking a point against the league champions, Dunfermline, last weekend. All that said Gary knows his team needs to strive for consistency and avoid defeats such as those at Brechin and Stenhousemuir. He also admits that the Scottish Cup defeat to Linlithgow Rose was a low point in his career. "That was probably the worst I have felt in my managerial career following those two games. Going out of the cup knowing we should have made it into the next round was a huge disappointment but you have to move on and learn as a manager."

What about Gary's style of man management? "I like to develop good relationships with players. Banter is important but you also have to draw a line between the players and you as the manager. When I was at Rangers, working under Walter Smith who himself had been managed by Jim McLean, I saw the way Walter mixed things up on and off the park – he was firm on the training ground but got on well with the players off the field. I remember thinking that I would want to operate like that if I became a manager – firm but fair and develop relationships built on trust."

It is not just about good old fashioned man management these days and both Gary and Stuart hold the UEFA A Coaching badges and work hard throughout the year to undertake the required hours to maintain this status.

Along with bringing in new players Gary has tweaked other parts of the Forfar structure. Training is now held at Station Park on both Tuesdays and Thursdays to ensure proper preparation away from the public openness of the earlier Perth training ground. This might change again next season to take into account the long drives north for some of the players. Gary also switched around the dug-outs which on reflection was an obvious thing to alter. "If you look around at Scottish grounds most of the home dug-outs are on the side of the linesman." He continues laughing "Far better me than the opposition manager being able to give out constructive advice! The things I have changed might appear small but I always look to make improvements – it is these marginal gains that can end up making a huge difference."

One thing for sure is that Gary isn't afraid to try things and alter his plan if required and there will no doubt be changes to come over the close season. Uncertainty around the club's status next season makes the preparations more difficult but while Gary and his team are focused first and foremost on remaining in League One, they are keen to start building for next season as evidenced by signing up Kerr Hay and Michael Kennedy on new deals. "We are already planning how we can compete at the top end of the table next season. That has to be our aim – Forfar were so close to promotion last season and there is no reason why we should not be up there competing at the top again."

The fans have an important role to play in helping the Loons to achieve this much wanted success. The support at recent games, home and away, even with the team sitting in the lower reaches of the league has been encouraging for Gary. He is clear that he wants the Forfar fans to continue to support the team, especially at the crunch games between now and the end of season. "The fans are the 12th member of the team and it means a huge amount to the guys to have their backing. Going off the pitch to the cheers after we beat Ayr and Peterhead was brilliant and I really want to build something for the fans to enjoy in the coming seasons."

For someone who has achieved what Gary has in his career, both as a player and a manager, it is easy to see how he might be known as the fixer. While there are still some repairs required to the Forfar set-up, Gary has started to build a new field of dreams at Station Park. Can he fix it? With three league games to go and only five points separating the bottom four, fingers are crossed at Station Park that the answer, come the big Angus showdown on 30 April is, 'Yes he can!'

Gary Bollan was in conversation with Louise Huggan for the match day programme v Airdrieonians on 16 April 2016. The first half of the interview can be found in News dated 4 April 2016 or in the match day programme v Peterhead on 2 April 2016.