NEW Musselburgh Athletic manager Kevin Milne has described it as “an honour” to take charge of his hometown club.

The former Penicuik Athletic boss was appointed as successor to Kevin McDonald over the weekend and will lead the Olivebank side as they look to battle it out at the top of the East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) Premier Division.

Milne, who has also managed Hearts’ and Hibernian’s Ladies, grew up in the town before signing a full-time deal with Aberdeen when he was just 16.

He said: “I grew up in the town and remember going in as a kid when it was gala week.

“You had five-a-side at Olivebank and you would have Hibs, Hearts and Musselburgh putting in five-a-side teams.

“Even Olivebank holds a memory for me.

“I never had the privilege of playing for Musselburgh but the fact that I have got the opportunity to manage them; it is immense pride.

“I hope I can make the town proud.”

The 40-year-old featured for the reserves and was involved with the first team squad at Aberdeen.

Three years with the Dons was followed by spells with Stirling Albion and Forfar Athletic before dropping into the junior leagues with Linlithgow Rose and Haddington Athletic.

He would go on to manage Hawick Royal Albert and left Penicuik in February 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Milne told Courier Sport: “The timing is perfect just because it was getting to the stage where I was wanting to get back into the game.

“Before, when [previous manager] Calvin Shand left, they appointed Kevin McDonald as interim boss and it never crossed my mind to apply because I was doing a job at Penicuik and was happy there.

“I did not want to jump ship for the sake of it.

“Then, I was out of a job at the moment and this came up and it seemed this was the right time.

“The club have done well with appointments in previous times, from Davie McGlynn to Stevie McLeish.

“Calvin Shand did a good job after a difficult start and Kevin McDonald put them in a really good position.

“There are big shoes to fill but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Milne, who now lives in Haddington, was at Millfield on Saturday to see Haddington take on his new side.

Veteran striker Matti King scored the only goal of the game, with Milne meeting his players on Tuesday evening ahead of the first home pre-season friendly at Olivebank on Wednesday against Arniston Rangers.

Looking beyond that, Milne, who runs his own gardening business, is determined to have his new side challenging at the top of the EoSFL, with a view to reaching the Lowland League.

He said: “I think the target for the club over a course of time would be to get as high as they could.

“If that means the Lowland League that would be great.

“At this stage, we need to be a bit realistic. Where we are at the moment, we need to take each game as it comes.

“With the squad of players we have got, there is no reason we cannot be competing with the top teams.”

Karl Cleghorn, club president, revealed what had caught the eye when the club was looking for a new manager.

He said: “Kevin and a number of other candidates had very good backgrounds technically wise for the job, which is always very, very important.

“Kevin had a little bit more experience than some, recent experience, and the biggest selling point for Kevin was his knowledge, his enthusiasm and how much he wanted the job.

“He made it pretty obvious he was not just turning up for an interview – he wanted the job.

“It was the job he wanted, he turned down opportunities before and sat tight and waited for the job to come along.

“This is the job he wants to make a fist of.”