Jonathan McKinstry has signed a two-year contract with the Gambia government to manage the senior football team.

McKinstry, 38, replaced Tom Saintfeit who quit his role in February following a poor AFCON performance in Ivory Coast. 

Speaking shortly after the signing ceremony, the Irish man expressed delight about managing the Gambian national football team, The Scorpions. He called for more unity to achieve success. 

“In my time in the game I have been in many countries with many teams and many federations. And often the problems arise when there is no unity, when there is no togetherness.

“And then to see how closely, the government of The Gambia, how the National Sports Councils, how the Ministry of Sports, how [The Gambia Football] Federation are coming together for the future success of this country, gives me huge hope for not just the next two years together, but also for many years beyond that as well,” he said.

McKinstry added: “For me, there is only one direction we are going and that’s forward and that’s not just as a nation is about mentality about the game. 

“We want to go forward. Every step we want to take is forward. Everything we want to achieve is forward. And the only way to do that is to work together, and me and my team of technical staff of the federation that will be our strap line every day we come to work.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba