IRVINE Meadow last night appointed former Blantyre Vics boss Davie Greig as their new manager.

Greig and his backroom team of Scott Mills, John Petrie and player/coach Kevin Rutkiewicz meet the players at training tonight.

They take charge for the basement side's crunch Premier Division clash with Glenafton Athletic at Meadow Park on Saturday.

Greig landed the top job ahead of 13 other applicants with the shortlist whittled down to four.

He takes over from Stevie Rankin, who was sacked two weeks ago along with assistant Murdie MacKinnon, who was ironically appointed Blantyre Vics boss on Hogmanay.

Meadow chairman Robert Jeffrey said: "Davie was the standout candidate of all the people we spoke to. He has so much experience and twice won promotion with Blantyre Vics.

"He also has a real eye for a player. We have a couple of difficult games coming up - Saturday's league clash with Glenafton and the Scottish Cup tie away to Linlithgow Rose the following weekend. Hopefully Davie can turn things around."