2019/20 - Update Three (Season conclusion)

February 2020

The epitome of a mixed month.  We took an early lead against Deveronvale, but they were in control for most of the game and took a deserved three points.

We then came up against Fraserburgh, who absolutely took us apart.  I was starting to wonder if maybe the decent form we'd been showing was about to come to an abrupt end and see us start to slide down to the lower reaches of the table.

However, we put in a much improved performance against Huntly, and all three goals came from the midfield bank of four.

At the start of the game against Keith, one place and one point separated us.  We were definitely the better side again, but Keith's defence was a lot more difficult to break down than Huntly's had been and it was a match we managed to edge.


Very happy to end up with 2 more wins and 2 more clean sheets.  The middle of the table is still quite close, but we're definitely doing better than I'd have imagined.


March 2020

An undefeated month, and in truth we were very unlucky to not get a perfect four wins.  We played very well in all 4 games and even came back from a goal down against Strathspey Thistle.  We had the better of the play against Rothes, but weren't able to find the breakthrough.

It would have been nice to have a perfect record for the month, however I really can't complain taking into account where I would have expected us to be.


April 2020

We manage a second unbeaten month in a row to close off the season.

Before this month, I'd anticipated us doing well against Wick Academy and Lossiemouth with them being bottom of the league, but struggling against league champions Inverurie Locos.  It didn't quite work out as I'd imagined.  We laboured to the win against Wick, and then lost a late equaliser against Lossiemouth.

Last up was against Inverurie Locos, who had wrapped up the Highland League title by the time we played them.  However, we played them off the park in the second half after an evenly matched first half and thoroughly deserved the 4-0 win.  Especially taking into account this was the team who won the league, I'd call that signing off with style.


We end up in a very creditable 5th place, with the best goals scored record in the whole division.  However, we will have our work cut out to manage the same next season.  3 of my first choice backline were loanees, and Ross Gunn who has dazzled on the left wing was also a loanee.  Replacing them will  not be easy, but that's a worry for next season.  For now, we can look back on what has to be considered a successful first season.

Aside from the things I've stated above, there are a couple of other things to address as well.

Firstly, my Assistant Manager.  This level being what it is, contracts don't tend to run more than a year, and my Assistant is no exception.  I've tried to get him to sign a new contract.  Whilst he does seem to want to sign, he wants more money than I can offer and so at this point it's looking like I'll be on the search for a new Assistant.

Secondly, the club vision.  Following our exploits this season, the board's expectations have increased somewhat.

In theory, this should still be manageable.  Thankfully, they're only asking for a top half finish and to work within the wage budget.  I will of course need to rebuild the defence entirely, but with the loanees we're losing I will need to be bringing in players across all positions to strengthen the team to the standard I need.

I did have to negotiate the club vision a little, as they also wanted me to commit to playing high-tempo, pressing football.  And whilst this is what I've already been doing for the most part, I didn't want to be bound to a specific type of play, as you never know when you may need to change things up a bit.  Thankfully, after a couple of attempts they agreed to remove this from the club vision.

Now, the players are heading off for a deserved holiday.  Some will be heading back to their parent club in Inverness.  I imagine some will also get poached by other clubs over the summer.  So, whilst the players are off sunning themselves somewhere, I'll be in the office at Claggan Park trying to sort my squad out.