Auchterarder Primrose kick-off a fresh start for the club

Auchterarder Primrose are ready to kick-off an exciting new chapter after returning to the Perthshire amateur football set-up.

The well-respected Lang Toon club was forced to enter abeyance at the beginning of 2020 and then COVID-19 halted a comeback.

But the future now looks bright with management and players limbering up for the start of the new season in a couple of weeks time.

Aaron MacGillivray, who is taking on the role of player/ manager, is determined to play his part in building a team the town can be proud of.

“It was a tough time for all involved and an agonising decision for the committee,”he said of the club previously pulling out the league.

“Lack of commitment from players, for whatever reason, meant Primrose really struggled in general to hold things together.

“Then the pandemic kicked in which didn’t help matters.

“But we want to draw a line under the past and move on from here with lessons learnt.

“Amateur football in

Auchterarder is a must. It’s something the town has had for about 70 years.

“But there has been football in the town for over 120 years in some form or another.

“The Perthshire league was formed in 1890 with Primrose being mentioned in 1913-14.

“There were also another two Auchterarder teams according to historical records - Vale of Ruthven (1891-97) and AuchterarderThistle (1899-1907).”

Ryan Slamon is assistant player/manager for the season ahead while Martin McKillop is head coach. Auchterarder, who played Newburgh in a friendly on Wednesday, will be plying their trade in Division Two and excitement is brewing nicely.

“The buzz is amazing now that the start of the season is only two weeks away,”MacGillivray added.

“We still have a few senior players but most of the squad is new, with new ambitions and hopes for the future.

“Preparations have been good, although we could have done with more friendlies and game time. But we’re happy with where we’re at.”

It goes without saying that Auchterarder are grateful to all who have chipped in and shown support in recent times.

“We’ve got all our sponsors in place and that is all the town is talking about,”MacGillivray told the PA this week.

“We would like to thank all of our sponsors and everybody who has helped to make this possible, including other amateur teams that have sent us messages of support.

“We’d also like to record our thanks to Titch, Stevie, Craig, Grant and Alan for all their hard work and dedication over the years.”

Auchterarder are scheduled to open their league season away at Letham Colts on August 21.