McKim: Chris is the man to help us take a tilt at the title
Johnstone Burgh boss Jamie McKim believes new signing Chris Burns can help propel the club to a title charge.
The creative midfielder has returned to Keanie Park after a spell abroad in Spain.
The talent joins Ross Geddes in making his way back to Burgh this summer, with McKim having signed Burns in his first full season in charge of the club.
The gaffer is positive he can help the side push towards the top of the West of Scotland League Conference A with the league set to kick off next month.
McKim, right, told Express Sport: “Chris is a player of the highest quality and we need that going into a very competitive division.
“He was with us in my first full season in charge and was a very important player for us.
“Unfortunately, we lost him when he went to Valencia in Spain as part of his university course.
“Thankfully, he’s back now and able to commit to the club again. He’s technically very good on the ball and he’s improving physically all the time.
“Like Ross coming back in, they will really strengthen us going forward.
“The squad was never in need of major surgery because we were very good last season. But bit by bit we’re strengthening which is really positive.”
The Burgh squad returned to training last week, with players taking part in individual sessions.
While McKim admits the nuts and bolts of lockdown restrictions aren’t ideal, he’s adamant the return is better than nothing as they gear up for life in Conference A.
He said: “We’re back to individual sessions and it’s really strange, to be honest.
“We’re only allowed groups of five, including a coach, so it’s really limiting in terms of what we can actually do. “It’s all non-contact as well so it’s nowhere near what we’d like to be doing to prepare for a new season.
“But it’s better than nothing, especially for the players’ mental wellbeing. I think we could have come back a lot sooner in that respect.
“Football is a massive part of some of our players’ lives and being part of the group again is massive for them mentally.
“Fingers crossed it won’t be too long until we can get the whole group back together again and get the real training work started.”
McKim is keeping his options open in terms of planning pre-season friendlies, with lockdown restrictions set to play a big part in who the club can play to get fully up to speed.
He added: “We’re not planning a full pre-season like we normally would because by the time we get to it things might have all changed again anyway.
“We might only be able to travel a certain distance, so the games might have to be all local ones.
“Right now we’re just making sure the players are physically fit and keeping an eye on what everyone else is doing.
“We’ll get our pre-season friendlies sorted when everything’s a bit clearer.”
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