October 9th 2026
Nairn County Football Club is delighted to confirm the appointment of Wayne Mackintosh as our new Manager.
Wayne steps into the role having ended his 21-year Highland League playing career at the end of the season.
The 37-year-old has agreed a two-year contract and will officially take up his new post on Thursday.
Looking forward to his new role, Wayne had this to say: “I am delighted to have been named as the new Manager of Nairn County. I spent the vast majority of my career here and I have always had a strong affiliation with the club, so it is an honour to take on this role.
“I am aware how well the club is organised and the infrastructure that is already in place here. We have come off the back of a difficult season and the aim now is to make sure we improve on that to push towards our objective of becoming a top Highland League team and being in the mix for silverware in future years and that challenge really excites me.
“I know the squad well having been back at the club as a player for the last two-and-a-half years. It is now my job to make sure they deliver on the pitch and I cannot wait to get started. Nairn County is in my blood and I can assure the fans that I will give it my all to put a winning team on the park and bring success to the club.”
Chairman Kevin Reid was delighted to be able to confirm Wayne’s appointment. He said: “We are all really thrilled that Wayne has agreed to take on the job.
“When I took over as Chairman a couple of weeks ago, I obviously inherited the situation where the Manager’s post had been vacant since January and straight away, Wayne seemed like the ideal candidate – which received unanimous support from the Management Committee – because we need stability moving forward, so I am delighted he has accepted and I would like to thank our Director of Football, Graeme Macleod, for all of his hard work in making this appointment happen.
“He knows the squad, he knows the league, he is respected throughout the Nairn community and respected throughout the Highland League and most importantly, he knows what it takes to win at this level. I am really excited about the prospect of working with Wayne and seeing what he can bring to the role.”
He added: “I am keen for us as a club to grow our own talent and this is also a reward for all of Wayne’s hard work down the years with our youth teams developing himself as a coach. As a Management Committee, we have all pledged to give Wayne as much support as we can and I would ask the supporters to get behind the new Manager with positivity as we now look ahead to a new beginning next season with optimism.
“I would also like to put on record my thanks to everyone who applied for the position or expressed an interest. We received a large volume of candidates and I wish all them the best for the future.”
After coming through the club’s youth development programme, Wayne made his debut for us in March 2004. Over the next 13 seasons, he won the North of Scotland Cup twice and one Highland League Cup before ending his first spell with the club in 2017.
He spent three seasons at Formartine United, winning another Highland League Cup and adding the Aberdeenshire Cup and Aberdeenshire Shield to his collection. Wayne then moved on to Rothes in 2021, winning the North of Scotland Cup for a third time before returning to Station Park in September 2022 and earning another North of Scotland Cup winners’ medal a little over one year later.
Wayne brought the curtain down on his playing career earlier this month after 411 appearances for Nairn County and now moves into his first role in management as the 14th permanent Manager of the club in our 116-year history.
Image by Kenny Macleod Photography.
