Carlisle United can confirm that former-Stirling, Cowdenbeath and Livingston keeper Craig Wight has joined the Blues on a full-time basis until the end of the current season, with a review to take place at that point.
Wight, 40, started out as a youngster with Hibs and was based mostly in Scotland through his playing days, but also spent time in College football in America and with FC Aland and Mariehamn in Finland. He was both assistant manager and caretaker manager at different spells whilst with Aland.
He teamed up with the Cumbrians for the first time on Monday and has today completed his move to Cumbria where he will work with first team stoppers Adam Collin and Louis Gray.
United boss John Sheridan said: “Craig has joined us and I like him. He’s been working in Finland recently and he’s also been working in Scotland, and I can tell from the past few days that he’s just pleased to be with us.
“He seems very keen and I’m pleased he’s come along.”
“We’ve had a look at one or two people and Craig stands out as wanting to push himself on,” he continued. “He’s excited about the prospect of coaching in England and I’m chuffed to bits that we’ve finally got someone in.
“It’s important for keepers that they have somebody there working with them just to keep them on their toes and to keep them match sharp.
“The other good thing for me is that he’s just lost at line ball at the end of the training session so he’s another one who will come in handy for me getting a free sandwich every day.
“Seriously though he’s a good lad and he’s settled in already. His aim is to come here to prove himself and to do well with us, so that can only be good for us all.”
Speaking about the move, Craig Wight said: “I’ve been coaching at Stirling Albion and I was enjoying myself up there at what is a good club. I was part-time with them and I was coaching independently with AMC Goalkeeping on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to fill the spaces.
“The move here came about because my dad had woken up one morning and, during what must have been a gap between having his coffee and reading his book, he came in to tell me that he’d seen that Carlisle goalie coach had quit.
“So, I had a read of the article and I thought – in for a penny, in for a pound. I sent my CV off, and I went old school by not doing it by email. I printed it all out, posted it and made sure somebody had to sign for it when it got there.
“Mr Holdsworth gave me a phone back but, unfortunately at that time, my dad took the message and he wrote all of the details wrong. I spent the next two weeks trying to get hold of Mr Holdsworth, and I started to think that maybe it had been my chance and that I was never going to get a call back on this one.
“He then phoned me last Thursday and he told me to come down on Monday and that we would take it from there. We trained in the morning and by 3 o’clock in the afternoon it was all agreed. So, here I am, and I’m looking forward to getting on with it.”
We’ll have a full, fascinating interview with Craig Wight on his career in football so far, and on his move to Cumbria, on the official website next week.
