Notts County can confirm that former Scotland Under-21 captain Jamie Fullarton has been appointed as the club’s new first team Manager.
Fullarton, who has held coaching roles at Crystal Palace, Bolton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest came highly recommended for the vacancy at Meadow Lane and is considered to be one of the brightest young managerial prospects in the country.
Having been highly impressed by 41-year-old Fullarton’s first interview for the job, the interview panel of Chairman Ray Trew, Director Aileen Trew and Chief Executive Julian Winter made the decision to appoint him to the role over the weekend, after a successful second interview.
Mr Trew said of the appointment: “I don’t think I have ever been as impressed by someone at an interview as I was by Jamie. He had us all captivated throughout what turned out to be a lengthy assessment of his suitability for the role.
“I’ve got to stress that we had an incredibly high standard of applicant for the vacancy, some of whom were unable to commit to the role to the level we were looking for and some who gave us plenty to think about when it came to conducting the interviews.
“However, when Jamie came in for his interview we all agreed that he stood out as the man that we wanted to take on this exciting challenge, with his meticulous attention to detail and his mix of self-awareness and self-assurance shining through.”
CEO Julian Winter added: “As a Board, we had a clear vision for how we wanted to approach the recruitment process for this very important appointment.
“We were looking for someone with passion, with focus and with a clear plan for how they want to approach this role and how they plan to not only turn our fortunes around this season, but to take this club forwards in the years ahead.
“Jamie’s attention to detail and the lengths that he had gone to in preparing for the interview meant that he really stood out in a very strong shortlist of applicants and we will be looking for this meticulous approach to be the cornerstone of his tenure at Meadow Lane as we aim to ensure we are getting the very best from a very strong squad of players.”
Fullarton himself was relishing the challenge of managing the World’s Oldest Football League Club, saying: “I am delighted and excited by the prospect of managing such a great club as Notts County, laced with history and tradition.
“To manage a club which has in place an infrastructure, strategy and vision off the pitch that provides a genuine opportunity to be successful on the pitch is a fantastic foundation to build upon.”
Aware that the appointment of an up-and-coming Manager may raise questions, the Chairman was quick to counter those fears, adding: “I don’t see this as a gamble. I know that I may have become known for my impulsive decisions at times, but this certainly isn’t one, this was a unilaterally agreed decision by the Board.
“This is an incredibly important appointment for the club and Jamie knows that, but he made it clear to us that far from being a pressure situation, he sees it as an opportunity to thrive and to deliver the kind of results that we are all yearning for this season to get us back to where I believe we belong, challenging for promotion.”
Mr Trew also thanked Mick Halsall and Richard Dryden for stepping into the breach to take charge of first team matters on a temporary basis over the past two weeks as both return to their roles with the Academy and Reserve Team respectively.
Fullarton will meet up with his new squad and officially take charge of the first team from Monday, with his first game due to come in the Sky Bet League 2 game away to Crawley Town this weekend.