Willie McGinley was appointed as football manager when Penicuik restarted playing.. Commenting on the appointment, club President John Fraser said " we were pleased to announce the appointment of Willie who is exactly the profile we were looking for. He has a vast experience in both senior and junior football and is keen to develop into managing his own team".

As a local youngster, Willie trained with Penicuik Athletic and played a few games for the team in 1978 gaining a league winners medal. Willie went on to play with a variety of East of Scotland and Junior clubs and spent a season at Dunfermline Athletic when he was then signed by the then manager, Jim Leishman.

Willie has spent most of the season with Gala Fairydean before switching to Preston Athletic who are on the threshold of promotion to the Premier division of the East of Scotland League.

Willie left Preston to take up the reins at Penicuik in 2002. He appointed a back room staff of Stuart McKean as assistant manager, Jimmy Wight as coach, Raymie Sandison as goal keeper coach and Jeff Gray as the physio.

Willie almost secured promotion in his first year in charge, just missing out in the final game of the season. He won the Summer Cup and again just failed to gane promotion in the following year. Success followed in his third year when he won the Second Division title and promotion to the hgher league. He consolidated the teams position in that league and secured a position the the reconstructed Premier division for the following season.

In a tough premier league campaign in 2006, Willie and the team produced the 'great escape act' to survive by defeating the two Scottish Cup finalists, Linlithgow Rose and Kelty Hearts in the last game of the season.