Dunfermline Athletic appoint Kelty Hearts’ Michael Tidser as new head coach

He joined the Fife club from Falkirk in February 2020 and famously scored the winning goal in the Pyramid Play-off final that defeated Brechin City to secure a place in the Scottish Professional Football League for the first time after winning the Lowland League.

When his former club announced his 6-mile move from New Central Park, he said he had “introduced an attractive style of play” and was “popular with the Kelty faithful”.

Former Airdrie United midfielder McDonald, 39, who previously managed Musselburgh Athletic, originally joined Kelty’s coaching staff in 2021.

The arrival of the new management team comes as a company run by English-born, US-based businessman James Bord is in the process of completing a takeover of the current majority owners, German football investment group Fussball GmbH.

Dunfermline had been looking for a new team boss since James McPake was sacked after successive defeats left his side second bottom.

Youth boss John McLaughlan has been in charge of three games – draw, win and defeat against teams in the top four – but they remain in ninth place, two points behind Hamilton Academical and have played two games more.

Amid reports of interest in Tidser, who had played 11 times this season, Kelty dropped from second to third in League One and are currently one point behind Stenhousemuir and three behind Arbroath.

Kelty’s statement did not mention a successor, but thanked captain Thomas O’Ware and the “backroom team for their exceptional efforts in leading the team over the last few weeks” while Tidser was missing from the dugout during the negotiations.