THE new head coach of Dunfermline Athletic Ladies has said that their ambition was a major factor in his decision to join the club.
Charles Dignan, who left Alloa Athletic for the Pars last month, believes that they have "no glass ceiling" and that their ambitions to progress within Scottish women's football align with his own.
Athletic, who play in the SWFL (Scottish Women's Football League) East, prised Dignan, his assistant coach, Greg McSwiggan, and goalkeeping coach, Inness Pirrie, from the Wasps and won their first game under his tenure at the weekend to progress into the last 16 of the SWFL Plate.
He has high hopes for what can be achieved in the short and longer term and, speaking to Press Sport this week, revealed that the club's vision helped sell the post to him.
"The job as I know it at Dunfermline became available. Dean Gibson (who was the Pars Foundation's football development officer, before taking up a role with Southampton Women) had reached out to myself after an approach was made to Alloa for me, and just sold me the vision of the club, sold me the vision for the team, the platform they've got, and took me through the structure and the foundations that the club's built on," Dignan explained.
"I'm from Fife, I believe Dunfermline are a sleeping giant, and what Dean took me through almost verified what I thought I knew, which just made it exciting. I think Dunfermline, as a club, as far as the women's team are concerned, there is no glass ceiling.
"I think Dunfermline can go all the way, if I'm being honest. They're a big enough club, I think they've got a big enough support, and I think they've got the right processes and structures in place to enable that to happen. They've certainly got the players to match that ambition as well.
"I'm a very ambitious coach. I've got my own aspirations and the club was able to match them. I think it's turning out to be a great partnership.
"I definitely feel at home and I feel like we could definitely, over the next few years, work to take the club to where it needs to be."
When asked about whether any targets had been set, he replied: "I think year one, coming in, you've just got to create an identity, create a platform and create a culture that meets your own standards, beliefs, and matches the integrity of every player. I think that's got to be year one coming in halfway through a season.
"Obviously, if you can get success within that first season, you will certainly take it. For example, we're into the last 16 of the plate - can we go on and win that?
"As far as the league's concerned, there's still plenty of football to be played, so we'll just take one game at a time, and we'll just see how far we could go, or how far up the table we find ourselves going as the weeks progress.
"If we get the building blocks and the foundations right this year, then I think next year you've got to be looking at trophies and promotions, and you've got to really be pushing Dunfermline to the limits it can go to."
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