Darren O’Donnell – director of football

QUEEN’S PARK FC has received notice from director of football Darren O’Donnell that he is stepping away from his present role at the Club.

Darren was appointed in June 2024 having previously worked closely with the Spiders in a number of transfer deals as a Fifa-licenced agent and on a consultancy basis following the departure of Marijn  Beuker.

In his role, he has worked closely with head coaches to deliver their signing targets to the first-team, whilst managing all areas across the football department and supporting department heads. Success for the B team in retaining the SPFL Reserve League last season, and record-breaking Cup runs and results last season were particular highlights.

Now, following changes to the Club structure at Lochinch, including the change of Academy status, Darren has informed the club of his intention to step back from his role.

Club President Graeme Shields said: “Darren will leave the Club with the best wishes and thanks of everyone who worked with him.

“We are grateful for the work he carried out throughout last season and his work in securing the Academy’s future at Advanced Youth level.

“More recently Darren has provided invaluable support to our new head-coach Sean Crighton on the contractual and recruitment side of the summer business so far and we again thank him for his work, and delivering in those areas.”

Darren O’Donnell added: “It has been an honour and privilege to work for Queen’s Park as director of football. I believe this is a decision with the best interests of Queen’s Park in the longer-term and at the right time given the changes ongoing at the Club.

“Moments such as the historic win over Rangers and qualifying for our first national Cup final in 125 years have been great achievements for the club, however these are tinged with disappointment over how our league form panned out in the second half of last season.

“We have had to change our set-up behind the scenes to work within our changing circumstances and my recent work has been on maximizing and maintaining what the Club can offer, whilst reducing football costs. I am certain Queen’s Park still has a lot to offer in that regard.

“I am delighted we have brought Sean Crighton in as head-coach for next season. Sean is someone I have a lot of trust and belief in having brought him into the B team, and I have been glad to have supported him as he assembled his backroom team and worked alongside him to deliver his targets for the summer within the tightening budget. 

“I have every faith in his ability to be a great head-coach and hope the fans will get behind him, the team, and the Club as a whole next season, given the changes.

“My aim before leaving has been to ensure the club has what it needs for a successful season within the academy and first team, ensuring all our obligations have been met allowing full focus on achieving results. I am happy to say we are almost there.”