BILLY STARK ended seven months out of football yesterday when he agreed to join League Two champions Albion Rovers as assistant to player/manager Darren Young.

Young was a student of Stark's at a Uefa A Licence training event earlier this month, and the former Scotland Under-21 head coach said: "Sandy Clark - who has just left here for Dunfermline - and I were leading the group Darren was in.

"After a few days he asked me if I would be interested in coming to assist him. I gave some thought to it and here I am.

"There are a number of talented young managers just now and Darren is one of them. Having seen him close up he was very impressive.

"And that was not just in coaching, but how he handled himself, his enthusiasm and, when I spoke to him, I was impressed with his character."

Stark's return to club football with the League One club comes at a time when the national side is in rude health and he believes Scotland manager Gordon Strachan is building positive momentum across the country.

"It has been a fantastic time for Scotland and it has been well-documented how well Gordon has done. He has proven himself to be a terrific manager."