Elgin City Football Club unveil former referee and SPFL delegate Martin Johnston as new general manager at Borough Briggs
Elgin City’s new general manager wants to see the Borough Briggs club transformed from sleeping giants into an active SPFL force.
Martin Johnston has seen service as a club secretary in the Highland League, a match official in the top tier of the Scottish game, an SPFL match delegate and an ambassadorial role at Aberdeen Football Club.
He helped steer his local Dufftown time from welfare into junior football and as club secretary at Formartine United he assisted their move from junior to Highland League outfit.
He has held general manager roles at two of Elgin’s promotion rivals, as well as in League 1 football with Cove Rangers and Montrose.
And he revealed how he could have joined City two years ago, but finally made the switch to the Moray outfit after his friend and fellow Speysider Alan Murray was appointed as Elgin’s chairman a year ago.
“Alan was always at the back of my mind, and when the opportunity arose, there was a conversation and it ended up being a no-brainer, to be quite honest,” he said. “I'm just delighted that I've made the move.”
Johnston recalls Elgin City’s all-conquering team of the 1960s from his childhood, and remembers attending Borough Briggs for meetings in his administrative roles in north football.
“I've always been pretty familiar with the size of the club and its potential,” he said. “Elgin should be up there, to be perfectly honest.
“The phrase ‘sleeping giant’ is often used but as an outsider looking in, I think the previous regime that were here did a commendable job in making sure that the club was on an even keel and they've got to be applauded for that.
“Like every club, whoever's in charge, it's just their term of office. They're only the custodians and they're trying to enhance the club and bring it on to the next level. And I can see that's what the chairman's trying to do here and I'm hoping to be part of that.
“I'm not coming here to make any great changes or anything like that. Nobody's saying anything's broken.
“It's just a case of trying to look at what's in place at the moment. I don't have a lot of new ideas - they're all old ideas being regurgitated all the time. We can maybe learn from our peers at a higher level.
“Rome wasn't built in a day. We've got the platform, so we just want to build on it and take it to the next level.”
Chairman Murray added: “Martin’s appointment is a significant one for the club. There are not many football administrators with Martin’s experience and knowledge of Scottish football.
“He will bring senior level management to the business along with a proven track record in commercial sales and management.”
Murray thanked previous general manager Frank Reid for his commitment as a volunteer in the role for the last nine months, adding that Reid will stay at the club as secretary and provide support to Johnston.
“Martin will lead the day-to-day operational management of the business and will be the conduit between our staff and the board of directors.”