Ray McKinnon is back involved in Scottish football management.
Forfar Athletic have appointed the 52-year-old as their new manager until May 2025.
Formerly of Dundee United and Falkirk, McKinnon has been out of work since guiding Queen's Park to the League Two title in 2021.
While managing in the same division, the initial objective will be entirely opposite to his previous gig. Forfar are bottom of the table after 13-matches.
However, they're only four-points behind Stranraer in sixth, so with well over half of the season to play, avoiding relegation is more than achievable.
A statement from the club reads: "The Forfar Athletic Directors can confirm this afternoon the appointment of Ray McKinnon as the club’s new Manager on a rolling contract till May of 2025, this after detailed and constructive discussions between the parties over the past 24 hours.
"The 52-year-old has been taking a break from the game since surprisingly leaving his role as Manager of Queens Park in the summer of 2021 having led the ‘Spiders’ to a runaway SPFL League 2 championship title.
"During the past fifteen months, he has been investigating potential business opportunities and also recovering from a well-publicised minor heart attack he suffered in the spring of this year and from which he made a speedy and full recovery.
"He has been considering a return to the game in a managerial capacity over the past few months and it goes without saying that ‘Loons’ officials are delighted to have obtained the services of such an experienced coach and manager so quickly following the departure of Gary Irvine to hopefully lead them away from the lower reaches that they currently occupy in the league table.
"Ray who resides in Broughty Ferry began a lengthy senior playing career at Dundee United in 1988, a club he was to return to for further stints as a player and then manager, moving on to wear the colours of Nottingham Forest, Aberdeen, Luton Town, Livingston, Raith Rovers, East Fife and finally Montrose.
"He then moved into coaching and management in the local junior world with Broughty Athletic and most notably Lochee United while at the same time working on behalf of the parent body of the game the SFA in the Dundee and Aberdeen areas.
"Ray ‘cut his senior managerial teeth’ in a successful four-season stint at our neighbours Brechin City before moving on to Raith Rovers in 2016 for a short spell, prior to returning to Dundee United later that year to take over the Tannadice ‘hot seat.’
"His managerial time at Tannadice came to an end in the autumn of 2017 with United lying fourth in the Championship, this was followed by a short and controversial spell at Morton, before taking charge at Falkirk and subsequently on to Queens.
"Ray is pleased to get the opportunity to return to the game with what for him is a local club and is convinced that he can oversee a change in the current fortunes of the ‘Loons.’
"Ray who will bring in an Assistant Manager in due course will meet the players some of whom including club captain Craig Slater he has worked with previously at training tonight and of course will be in the dugout or should we say technical area these days for the visit of Bonnyrigg Rose on Saturday when we are sure he will receive a warm welcome from the Forfar faithful."
