Homeless Harp have high hopes

LOCHEE Harp were forced out of their old home but, in their case, it was on a permanent basis after Beechwood was bought for development.

The deal included a new purpose-built stadium just across the road and work is progressing, although it is still some way off completion.

Until it is ready, Harp will again ground share with Downfield and, so far, it’s a move which hasn’t affected their results too much.

Manager Michael Gormley (pictured) struggled with injuries for much of the season but still finished eighth in the l eague and, if they can stay i njury free, Gormley will be hoping to build on that next season.

Blairgowrie finished in mid-table with 41 points.

Lack of consistency cost the Berrypickers any chance of being involved in the promotion shake-up.

Coupar Angus lost manager Logan McConochie, who moved to be assistant boss at Jeanfield Swifts.

Tom Stevenson took over the reins at Foxhall Park but they could only muster 22 points over the course of the campaign. Their best result was a 3-2 win at Luncarty. Brechin Vics were dogged by injury problems to their squad.

As a result they were forced to change their line-up on a regular basis and finished three points behind Coupar in the table.

It was yet another season in which Newburgh under-achieved, finishing second bottom.

Indeed, it represented a drop of two places from the previous campaign.

At the beginning of March, Alan Fortune resigned as manager and was replaced by Scott Hudson, previously in charge of Strathmiglo Amateurs.

It gave him a chance to assess the improvements required and his aim is to have a revamped squad in place for the new campaign. Forfar Albion finished bottom with eight points. The Guthrie Park side was predominantly made up of youth players and they will have benefited from the experience of the last 12 months.