Collins appointed coach of Charleroi

Former Scotland midfielder John Collins has taken over from Thierry Siquet as coach of Belgian side Sporting Charleroi, the club said on Monday.

“He is a young, modern coach with a winner's mentality,” said Charleroi chairman Abbas Bayat.

Collins, 40, told Belgian television that “I have discovered very motivated and enthusiastic people in charge here and a very ambitious club. I hope to contribute to an improvement in results.

“My method? A round ball – and no question of the long ball. We have to play constructively,” he concluded.

Collins, who won 58 caps scoring 12 goals from 1988 to 1999, played for six seasons for Hibernian and another six at Celtic before decamping for a two-year spell with French side Monaco before spending two seasons with Everton prior to ending his career in 2003 at Fulham.

He then went into coaching with Hibs in October 2006 and won the League Cup the following year but resigned several months afterwards.

Charleroi are presently 11th in the Belgian league with 18 points from 16 matches.