Stenhousemuir FC has, this week, parted company with Stephen Swift.
We would like to record our thanks to Stephen and his staff for their efforts since taking charge in April 2021.
Club captain Sean Crighton will take charge of the team until a successor is appointed.
Stephen took over as Warriors manager in April 2021 and the closing end of the season, taking the team for two games where he saw one win and one loss to close out the season.
He then managed a complete overhaul of the playing squad with only Graeme Smith, Cammy Graham and Adam Corbett being retained from the previous season.
In 2021/22, he managed the team for 44 games with 16 wins, 10 draws and 18 losses. We exited the Premier Sports Cup in a very tough group stage, which included a victory over Dumbarton, followed by defeats from Partick Thistle, Dunfermline Athletic and St Mirren. Our SPFL Trust Trophy and Scottish Cup runs both ended in the Second Round. Our SPFL Trust Trophy run started with a 3-0 victory over the Dundee United B Squad at Ochilview. We then lost on, on penalties, to Cove Rangers, after a 0-0 draw. Our Scottish Cup run ended at the hands of Airdrie in a 2-0 loss, with a 3-0 victory over Highland League Huntly in the 2nd Round. Our League Two campaign ended straight down the middle with 13 wins, ten draws and 13 losses across the 36 games. During the season, he was awarded the cinch League Two Manager of the Month for February.
Swifty then came into the 2022/23 season with pretty much a fully retained squad, with only a few additions. As the previous season, the Premier Sports campaign ended in the group stage. Despite this, positive results against Highland League side Fraserburgh and League One Montrose gave some hope for the season ahead. The group stage began, and ended, with defeats to Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock, respectively. The SPFL Trust Trophy ended at the first round with a 3-1 loss to Elgin City in the Highlands. Swifty has taken us into the 3rd Round of the Scottish Cup, following victories against East Fife and Fortmartine United, his final two victories for The Warriors. Livingston await in the 3rd Round, but that will be a challenge for a new manager. The League campaign has been very inconsistent with five wins, five draws and six losses in the opening 16 games. A sequence which leaves The Warriors 6th in table, 14 points off top and four points from bottom. Swifty’s record for the season ended with nine wins, five draws and nine losses. A failure to keep a clean sheet has been the thorn in Swifty’s side with the last being on the opening League Game of the season against Albion Rovers. The team have conceded an average of 1.82 goals per game this season. There is encouragement to be taken though, scoring 1.78 goals per game.
Swifty leaves the club after 69 games managed and has oversaw 26 wins, 15 draws and 28 losses with a win percent of 37.68%. This puts him 6th in the record of Stenhousemuir Managers with 26 wins from 69 games. He’s behind Des McKeown [34 wins from 62], Terry Christie [107 wins from 273], Martyn Corrigan [29 wins from 74], Jim Meakin [34 wins from 87] and Graeme Armstrong [20 wins from 53].
Swifty leaves behind a very talented squad and an attractive opportunity for any manager to take over. We wish Stephen, Mick and Fraz all the best in their futures, both inside and outside of football.
