Celtic great Peter Grant has officially left Dunfermline Athletic this afternoon after a dismal start to the Scottish Championship season for the Pars.
Grant was appointed at East End Park back in May 2021. However, a dismal first 3 months of the season has seen Dunfermline go winless in their opening 12 league games of the campaign.
Former Celtic midfielder Grant only secured 3 wins in 18 games for the club. All of them came back in July during the Premier Sports Cup group stages. Saturday’s 4-2 loss away to Arbroath appears to be the final straw after only picking up 7 points from a possible 36.
Dunfermline confirmed the news this afternoon as they said the following on their official website: “DAFC can confirm today that it has sadly parted company with Manager, Peter Grant.
“We would like to place on record our thanks to Peter for his efforts, hard work and professionalism during his time at East End Park, and we wish him and his family every success in the future.
“A fresh robust recruitment process to find a replacement for Peter to lead our club forward will start immediately. In the meantime, Greg Shields and Steven Whittaker have agreed to lead the team on an interim basis, and they will be supported by Sports Director, Thomas Meggle.”
Peter Grant finally ends troubling Dunfermline Athletic spell
Grant, who spent 15 years at Celtic, looked primed to rebuild his managerial reputation with the Championship club this season. After relegation with Alloa Athletic to League One in the 2019/20 campaign, this looked like a big opportunity for him.
Things looked promising in the summer after a high player turnover in Fife. Dunfermline brought in as many as 12 new players without spending a single penny on transfer fees. Experienced pros such as Graham Dorrans, Craig Wighton, and Mark Connolly were added to the ranks.
But things just didn’t click. Sitting bottom of the Championship and 2 points behind Greenock Morton, it’s clear the Dunfermline board have acted quickly to try and save their season.
It’s disappointing to see it end in such bleak fashion for Peter. He’s certainly an infectious character that gives his all to the roles he’s in. The former Scotland coach spent a period at Parkhead as a first-team coach under Tony Mowbray, and we saw then just how much passion he shows on the touchline.
It’ll be interesting to see where he goes from here. Another job in the Championship looks unlikely. If Grant is to stay in Scotland and as a number one, it would seem logical that he may need to drop a division. There’s no denying his tenures at both Alloa and Dunfermline didn’t go to plan respectively.
Hopefully, he bounces back quickly and gets himself a new gig.
In other news, Tuesday Scotland snub for Celtic man Anthony Ralston would be the most laughable yet
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