Junior Football

Close season confidence is high in the Newmains United camp that they can climb off bottom spot and make an impact in the Central Second Division next season.

“We’re building a solid foundation for next season,” said manager Kevin Muirhead, as he looks forward to the ‘second half ’ of his two-year rebuilding project.

“None of the previous set of players were here by the time I came in, so I brought in a set of young lads to give them Junior football experience, which they seemed to enjoy.

“This venture was starting to pay off in our last 10 games, with both performances and results.

“It was very encouraging – we wanted to show that Newmains were no longer the whipping boys.

“During that spell we gave some big teams a tough test and were unlucky in a few games to lose only by a goal or two.”

Kevin, who quit a coaching post at Hamilton Accies to become head coach at Victoria Park, added: “We’ve re-signed 12 of last season’s squad and I have identified a few other players we hope to bring in.

“This season has been full of highs and lows – just when you think you are getting a good squad together someone comes along and cherry-picks a player.

“That me five has happened to or six times this