Falkirk sign up Danny Grainger and Tony Caig as coaches ahead of pre-season training

Danny Grainger has been appointed as Falkirk's assistant head coach (Picture: SNS Group)

Danny Grainger joins as Sheerin’s number two and Tony Caig will be the Bairns’ goalkeepers’ coach.

Both have decades of experience to draw on as they seek to help the club bounce back from the disappointment of their fifth-placed finish in League One last season, eight points behind champions Partick Thistle and only seven ahead of second-bottom Dumbarton.

Grainger, manager at Northern Premier League Division One North West side Workington since 2019, has played at left-back for Scottish clubs including Heart of Midlothian, Dundee United, Gretna, St Mirren and St Johnstone.

Tony Caig is the Bairns' new goalkeeping coach (Picture: SNS Group)

After heading back south of the border to his native Cumbria in 2014, the 34-year-old played for English League Two outfit Carlisle United for the following five years.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully pushing the club forward,” said the 2012 Scottish Cup winner with Hearts.

“As soon as I spoke to Paul, I knew it was the right move for me, and I can’t wait for the challenges ahead and to work alongside him.”

Fellow Cumbrian Caig’s CV is even lengthier than Grainger’s, spanning almost three decades of playing between the goalposts for the likes of Hibernian and Blackpool.

Like his fellow new recruit, the 47-year-old has also played for Carlisle United, Workington and Gretna.

He was on Premier League Newcastle United’s books too for three years but never got to make a first-team appearance, being third in the Magpies’ pecking order behind Shay Given and Steve Harper.

Most recently, he was co-caretaker manager of Livingston, with David Martindale, following Gary Holt’s resignation in November to take up the job of sporting director at Falkirk.

He’s also been interim manager at Carlisle and a goalkeeping coach for Hartlepool United, Bury and Livingston.

Caig said: “I worked with Gary Holt at Livingston when he was manager there. I’m delighted to be here and hopefully I can be of help along the way this season.

“It’s something fresh, something new.

“Pre-season’s not far away, so we’ll be getting to work with the players and the new head coach, and hopefully we can get off to a good start and have a good season.”

Grainger and Caig complete Sheerin’s coaching teams as the Bairns prepare to begin pre-season training tomorrow, June 18, after fitness tests today.