Canniepairt gaffer Charlie excited by Tayport's potential

King was appointed the new boss at Tayport Juniors recently, replacing John Ovenstone who left for Cowdenbeath.

Having managed Brechin Vics from 2013 until 2016, King has recently been Keith Gibson’s assistant at Broughty Athletic.

But when the call came from the Canniepairt side to take the helm at the club, he knew it was time to step back into the manager’s seat again.

“I got a phone call from Keith on the Sunday saying Tayport had been in touch and did I want to speak with them,” said the new boss.

“I said I’d speak to them but wasn’t sure if I wanted to leave Broughty Athletic.

“We’d done a lot of good work at the club over the summer and was happy there.

“But I suppose it came down to wanting to be a number 1 again really.

“I felt very proud to be asked by Tayport and going from an assistant to a manager is what I want.

“Tayport are a club with a really good history and are Scottish Cup winners.

“I can’t wait to get started - it’s a really exciting time.”

As a player King is best known for his time at Brechin City, where he played over 300 games - finding the net 60 times.

He arrived at Tayport towards the tail end of the club’s pre-season campaign, but has seen enough already to convince him he has plenty to work with.

“I went down to watch the them play Cupar Hearts (a friendly Tayport won 5-2) and was impressed with the work ethic,” said the new boss.

“Without being disrespectful to Cupar Hearts, they’re an amateur side and sometimes you can just start to go through the motions.

“But the players never did that.

“Saturday against Camelon was different because we were up against a Super League side.

“We were magnificent in the first half and scored a couple of good goals.

“I think they maybe got a bit of a rollicking from their manager at half time because they were a lot better in the second half and scored a couple themselves.

“Our last game was against Leven United who I think won around five cup competitions last season.

“Again our attitude was great.”

Tayport flirted at times last season with a push for promotion but their efforts never really ignited into a serious charge.

King is aiming to change that this season.

To do it, they’ll need to beat the best in the division - and that will start on Saturday.

Opponents Musselburgh dropped down from the Super League last term, and will be eyeing an immediate return.

The Canniepairt boss is under no illusion about how tough the task will be.

“As far as I’m concerned Musselburgh are a Super League quality side,” said the manager.

“So we know it’ll be difficult.

“Then it’s Glenrothes and Dunbar at home which will also be tough but they’re the kind of games we’re looking forward to.

“It’s exciting for us, and I’m sure we’ll give a good account of ourselves.”

Glens visit the Canniepairt on Wednesday with a 7pm kick off.

Dunbar will arrive next Saturday for a 2.30pm start.