Fraser Duncan has called time on his role as the manager of Sauchie Juniors, bringing an accumulated 16 years at the helm to an end.
He made the decision following the club’s defeat to Dundonald Bluebell, making way for a new coach to take the reigns at his beloved club.
During his time, he has overseen promotions, trophy wins and historic cup scalps that leave him Sauchie’s undisputed most successful manager.
He spoke with Advertiser Sport to discuss his decision, how this leaves the club going forward and what moments stand out the most for him.
For Duncan, there was one stand out development which made his mind up and that was the 15-point deduction Sauchie received for playing ineligible players.
The club was deemed to have fielded players who were not registered through the new COMET system introduced by the Scottish FA.
This sent Sauchie crashing down to the bottom of the East of Scotland Premier Division and saw them disqualified from a cup competition.
“The COMET thing was hard to deal with,” Duncan said. “It was hard to kind of suck it up.
“That’s always a worrying sight for any manager to take over but I just thought I’d get the club out of bottom of the league and we’ll get ourselves back in a position where we should really be.”
In addition, refereeing decisions going against Sauchie also proved difficult to deal with for the Reds boss.
“I don’t like to keep going on about referees but the standard is so poor at the minute.
“They’re driving a lot of managers barmy and they’ve driven me to the point where I’d had enough.
“Look at the Dundonald game, we should’ve had a penalty and another one is offside and when these things go against you that often, I decided to call it a day.
“The decision was made on the best thing for the club. COMET’s been a hard thing to deal with but the main reason was to do what’s best for the club and make sure the club was okay.”
In the aftermath of the points deduction, Duncan led the team out of the relegation zone, now sitting on 23 points and four ahead of the bottom three teams.
Weighing up his options, he began to think of leaving his position around Christmas time, ultimately deciding to stay to make the club secure in the league.
With decisions and deductions sitting heavily on him, the gaffer decided he needed a break from football.
“I just think this season has taken a lot out of the team and a lot out of myself and I was feeling that way before Christmas.
“I just feel, we put three points on the board when we beat Luncarty but then the Jeanfield and Dundonald game we didn’t get any points so I thought maybe now is the right time for me to go.
“I thought I should give somebody an opportunity to come, have a look at the squad and see what there is there.”
Looking back on his time at Sauchie, Duncan reflected with pride on the transformation he has overseen.
Sauchie’s youngsters are flourishing in the academy, with two youth teams providing a pathway to first team football.
Duncan said: “I think I’ve left the club in a great place, the U18s are there, the U20s are there and they’re a very good side.
“The academy is thriving at the minute and that’s been built through things that I’ve done and I’ve put in place.
“I wanted to be a community club and now there’s kids that can start from as young as three and four year old and go through all the way to the first team.
“Because it’s been such a big part of my life for so long, it’s just going to be weird. I’m working the next two weekends so it’ll be alright but when the Saturdays come along and there’s no football, that might be when I think to myself ‘why did I do that?’
“It was all about the club, it wasn’t about what was best for me, it was about what worked out best for the club and that’s what I think has been best for the club.”
Altogether, Duncan has served at Sauchie for 16 years, barring a break in the middle where he worked in Dubai.
He quickly dispelled any notion that he’d return as manager in the future, but did say that he couldn’t rule out returning to Beechwood in some capacity.
“The door for me being the manager of Sauchie is closed,” Duncan continued. “I’ve had my spell there at the club.
“Now, it’s a case that I’ll take a break for a while and see what happens in the summer.
“I’m not saying I’ll never be back at the club, I’ll probably be back in some stage of my career – not as manager but maybe to do something else.
“For me, in my head I need to take that break, enjoy my wee boy’s football and see where things go after that.
“I’m not saying the door is closed on management, I’m not saying the door’s closed on me ever returning to Sauchie in some aspect, but certainly not right now.”
Overseeing an immensely successful period at the club, Duncan led Sauchie to three league titles, the East of Scotland Junior Cup and the most recent East of Scotland League Cup in 2024.
The ex-boss struggled to pick a clear favourite memory from his time at the club, instead deciding on a three-way tie.
Lifting the cup in June was a clear favourite, not least with the manner in which it was won, with Brian Morgan scoring the winner in extra time on what was believed to be his last game with the club.
Additionally, guiding Sauchie to promotion to the Super League for the first time in their history was a standout.
Lastly, their historic Scottish Cup 3-2 victory over Bonnyrigg Rose in 2022 will forever live in the mind of the Sauchie legend.
He added: “The proudest moment for me is gaining promotion to the Super League at the time.
“Gaining promotion was a big moment in the club’s history because they’d never been in the Super League.
“To get that promotion was outstanding.
“That, winning the East of Scotland League Cup and beating Bonnyrigg Rose in the Scottish Cup.
“To put Bonnyrigg out the Scottish Cup in the second round when they were flying was a massive result for us.
“For them to come to Sauchie and the whole way we played that day, the whole way the game went and the amount of supporters that were there was an amazing feeling.”
Share