Boss Budgie’s at full Blast to kick on with Kilbirnie...
JUNIORS legend Budgie McGhie has wasted no time in putting his stamp on Kilbirnie Ladeside after ending his five-month exile from the game.
McGhie was announced as the new Blasties boss back in May following the departure of Mark Bradley.
The 55-year-old had previously been in charge of Clydebank for 14 years but quit the Bankies at the end of 2016.
McGhie said: “I was always planning to return to management but I wanted to take a while off after leaving Clydebank.
“That all changed when I got the call from Kilbirnie. The offer came out of the blue so when I was first asked I was unsure what I would do. But after thinking about it I knew I had to take it, Kilbirnie have a great amount of history and a really strong fanbase so it was an easy decision to make in the end.”
McGhie has now been in charge at Valefield Park for two months and he’s been busy getting his new team ready for the 2017/18 season.
The veteran gaffer wanted to keep most of last season’s squad but revealed he was only able to convince five players to stick around. Those who have chosen to stay are Kieran Hughes, Mick O’Byrne, David Anderson, Ross MacKinnon and Kyle Rafferty.
He said: “When I first took over I planned on retaining the majority of the players already at the club and just freshen the team up with a few new players. But after talking to all the players it became clear that wouldn’t be possible as quite a lot of them didn’t want to stay.
“That was just something I had to accept. In the end, I only got five players from last season’s team to re-sign.”
McGhie has so far only managed to add four new players to his squad, but insists he will have a full team in time for the season starting. He said: “The fact I only had five players staying meant I had to look elsewhere to rebuild the squad and that’s what I’m doing just now. We currently have around 20 players
in training, most of them haven’t signed but we do have a few new players who have committed.
“In total, we have nine players signed which obviously isn’t enough but I’m confident we will have a full squad in a week or two.”
IN OTHER news, it was announced this week that a proposal for league reconstruction had been approved by the Scottish Junior Football Association.
As of the 2018/19 season the West Region will be split into four 16-team leagues instead of the current set up.
The changes mean there will be no automatic relegation from Super Premier Division this season. Instead, the teams that finish 11th and 12th in Super Premier Division will play off against fifth and sixth in the Super First Division.
Four teams will be automatically promoted from the Super First Division with no teams being relegated. The top three in the Ayrshire District League and the Central First Division will go up to the Super First Division.
The bottom two in the Super First Division will play-off against the teams that finish fourth in the Ayrshire District League and the Central First Division.
The teams that finish fifth, sixth and seventh in the Ayrshire District League will join the two play-off losers and 11 other central teams in the new bottom tier.
All four divisions will be given new names that mirror the professional leagues. The Super Premier Division will become the Premiership. The Super First Division will be renamed the Championship and the regional league will merge to become League One and League Two.