ONE HAND ON THE TROPHY
EK boss aims to mark a year in charge with title win
Martin Lauchlan marks his first full year in charge of East Kilbride this week - and he is hoping to celebrate that milestone with the Lowland League title.
East Kilbride are within touching distance of the Lowland League trophy after an incredible run of performances since Lauchlan took the reigns from Billy Ogilvie on March 21 last year.
Despite losing his first game 48 hours later (a 3-2 defeat to Whitehill Welfare), the 36-year-old has only tasted defeat twice in the league since and won two cup competitions.
There was, of course, the magic moment in November when his side were recognised by Ajax for beating their world record for consecutive wins as well.
And as the News went to press last night, Kilby were about to host Hawick Royal Albert knowing a victory at K-Park coupled with a win at Civil Service Strollers on Saturday would see them crowned champions.
The Lowland League leaders have left second place East Stirling in their wake at the top of the table and the Hawick clash represents their game in hand over their nearest rivals.
Kilby now have one hand on the trophy following a remarkable season.
And Lauchlan told the News: “It couldn’t have worked out much better.
“A year ago when I came in I knew a lot needed to be done to get a winning mentality in this team. We had to rebuild and with the help of my assistant Carlo Girasoli and coach Paul Roberts, we are close to achieving something very special.
“To win the trophy this week would be fantastic, but it won’t be easy.
“The closer you get the harder it becomes to get over the line.
“What I would say is the players have five games to win the league, not two. Of course we’d love to win it this week but there’s still plenty of games left if that doesn’t happen.
“We will get there I’m sure, it’s just a matter of when.
“The players have really bought into everything we’ve tried to do here and the team spirit has been fantastic. You can see that from the results we’ve had and that winning run we put together earlier in the season.
“Now we want the players to give a big push and get us over the line.”
Wins over Hawick and Civil Service would take Kilby beyond the 70 points they require to claim their first league championship and condemn East Stirling to another season in the Lowland League.
But with both of this week’s opponents battling to avoid relegation, Lauchlan knows it will be far from straightforward.
Hawick competed well in a 4-2 defeat at home to Kilby in December and Civil Service Strollers were edged out 2-1 in September’s South Challenge Cup clash.
“These teams are fighting for their survival, so we need to make sure we are at our best,” said Lauchlan.
“We had a couple of close games with them this season and we will take nothing for granted.
“Not many teams can touch us in this league when we are on our game and it’s important we maintain the standards we’ve been showing all season.”
Kilby’s hopes of playing the Hawick clash were almost derailed on Tuesday with heavy snowfall in the area threatening to postpone the contest. However, the K-Park groundstaff worked tirelessly to get the game on.
Saturday’s clash with Civil Service Strollers is a 3pm kick-off at Christie Gillies Park in Edinburgh.