FROM Easter Road to Los Angeles, from LA to Slovakia, and from Slovakia to wearing the colours of some of Scotland’s most well-known non-league clubs including Spartans, Vale of Leithen and Peebles Rovers; it’s fair to say that Ger Rossi’s career in football has never been short of excitement.

But now, this Peebles lad has made his next step in a career steeped in adventure and filled in the vacancy left by John O’Hara at Peebles Rovers. Taking the reins at a club like Peebles as your first managerial job was always going to be a big challenge, but it’s one that the Rover’s former player and assistant manager is looking forward to tackling.

Speaking to the Peeblesshire News, the new gaffer said: “It’s very exciting being here; getting the offer was something that I had a lot of time to think about.

"Myself and John spoke to the committee about the future of Peebles Rovers in terms of going forward, and it is a big challenge but it’s one that I’m delighted to be involved in.”

Already a renowned youth coach in Borders football with his own coaching company, CG Elite, Rossi revealed his and the club’s aspirations to get more local talent in the squad and bring the club to the forefront of the community.

He explained: “I had always seen myself as a coach, I never had a great desire to go into management but, the job here fitted in with what we wanted to do locally.

"My main hope as manager is to try and build something for the kids in the town and give the next generation the opportunity to play for their senior side.

“We only have two remaining players from last season, so it’s going to be difficult. But, the committee understand that what we want to do with youth is going to require a transitional period.

"What John O’Hara did for the town and the club was momentous, but to replicate that success we need to be patient.

"There will be a lot of young boys involved as we take Peebles in a new direction and bring the club back to the community”

Despite this bold new step for Peebles Rovers, Rossi is confident that the young guns will still have a fiery hunger for victory.

He continued: “At the end of the day, footballers and managers want to win, we’ll never hide the fact that we want to be progressive in what we’re doing but we still want to do as well as we can and be up there pushing the likes of Leith Athletic, who won the title this year.

"But we’ll wait and see how we do.”

The gaffer also talked new signings and the possibility of running out in red and white once more in a player/manager role.

He said; “Honestly, I’m not too sure how that’s going to turn out, but in terms of the boys that we’ve approached so far it’s gone really well.

"From my perspective, it’s going to be a learning curve. Predominantly, I want to be in the dug-out for the duration as it can be difficult to manage both roles at the same time. But I will be out on the pitch if myself and my staff feel I’m needed.”

With summer recruitment a big priority, the Rovers have been strengthened by the good news that Lee Zavaroni has extended his stay at Whitestone Park and the excitement of bringing the promising youngster, David Lindsay, across the park from a Tweeddale Rovers side that just lifted the B Division Championship title.

Rossi said: “Getting Lee signed up is fantastic news as he adds a lot to the team; going forward, he’s got great experience.

"We’re hoping to retain a couple of the boys from last year as well, but like I said, we’re looking at making our set-up local and most of them travel from Edinburgh so that’s an issue, obviously you can’t have a team filled with local lads so we’ll do what we can.

"With David, we’re thrilled to get him to put pen to paper.”

Rossi also announced the arrival of Allan McDonald, and former Hibs youth player, Scott Brown (not that one), as his new backroom staff, whilst also confirming that O’Hara’s assistant, Jamie Fraser, has departed the club.

He said: “Unfortunately due to his work and family commitments, and the fact that we’ve now moved the training to Peebles, Jamie decided to leave, but goes with our thanks and gratitude. We’ve brought in Allan McDonald, who’s been around the club a long time. Scott’s also involved in the new set-up and we’re hoping to try and get one more person to join the staff.

“To summarise, we’re looking for the right blend of youth and experience. Young lads are going to be the lifeblood of this club. Looking back at all the managers we’ve had, they’ve essentially had to build from scratch every time which is really difficult. From where I’m standing, it’s about what’s best for the town, what with me being a Peebles boy.

"I’m very much of the opinion that we have to ensure that the kids have an opportunity to come through, if they can go on and do well, then great, but we want to have something for them to fall back on so they can play local again if it doesn’t quite work out for them. We’ve got a lot of ideas for this club; we want to progress and bring back Scottish Cup games for the town, with these boys on board long-term, it really helps to build on what we’re trying to do.”

Peebles has long had a tradition of producing top footballers, boasting famous names such as the legendary Hibs full-back Erich Schaedler, St Johnstone’s cup winning striker, Steven MacLean and former Rangers and Middlesbrough midfield ace, Kevin Thomson. The town is also home to accomplished youth side, Peebles FC, with a membership figure of over 400 players.

With the exciting youth orientated step that the club is taking, this tradition looks set to continue and with the 2016/17 season, breathing down our necks, Peebles Rovers looks set to become the new home for exciting Peebles based talent.