Hamilton Academical promote John Rankin to head coach day after 39th birthday
- Published
John Rankin had been Stuart Taylor's right-hand man since December
Hamilton Academical have confirmed John Rankin as head coach with both holding a "shared vision" for the club.
The Scottish Championship club had parted with Stuart Taylor last week after only 10 months in charge having failed to challenge for promotion.
Rankin, 39, had been first-team coach under Taylor since December.
Chairman Allan Maitland said: "You can see he has a real desire for developing young players and passing his knowledge and understanding of the game on."
Having started in Manchester United's youth academy, Rankin went on to play for Ross County, Hibernian, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Dundee Utd, Falkirk, Queen of the South and Clyde.
He was Heart of Midlothian's under-18 coach before joining Accies and his promotion is the first decision made by the club's new football board, to which former Rangers full-back David MacKinnon has re-joined as director of football.
Rankin joined Accies when they were sitting third from bottom in Scotland's second tier, one point clear of bottom place, but improved form in the second half of the season led to a sixth-place finish, seven points clear of second-bottom Dunfermline Athletic.
He told Hamilton's website: "Speaking with Allan and the board, I believe that our vision for this football club is very much aligned."