Jags already in good shape for next term
East Kilbride Thistle boss Aaron Connolly admits he is “over the moon” to have 19 players signed up for next term already – and reckons it could boost his summer holiday plans.
The Jags still have six games remaining of the current campaign in the West of Scotland Fourth Division, but their gaffer has been hard at work building for the 2024/25 season.
Following the pre-contract agreements with Pollok Development Team trio Joseph McPake, Matthew Mullen and Ryan Menzies, the Jags have announced contract extensions for winger Ben Alston and midfielder Dino Molinari to take next season’s squad to a healthy number.
And Connolly says getting the work done now could allow him room for a welcome break in the summer.
He said: “We are in a very healthy place in terms of contract renewals. With that and the new boys who are coming in, we are already at a squad of 19 for next season.
“Continuity is key for this group because they are so young and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to keep working with them and keep developing that core group.
“This club has had many new managers, many rebuilds, so we are keen to stick with what we have, where the players understand what we are trying to do and understand what the expectations are.
“We will try and keep them together as long as we can and as long as they are performing to a good level.
“I’m over the moon about the work we’ve managed so far.
“It means I can probably take a week or two off in the summer, more than anything else, but we are very keen to get as much tied up for next season as we can.”
Thistle were idle at the weekend after their scheduled home clash with Campbeltown Pupils fell victim to the weather.
They will hope the Showpark surface holds up for this Saturday’s visit from Newmains United, where Connolly wants his side to perform better than they did in their “chaotic” 5-5 draw on the opening day of the campaign.
He said:“The first game of the season was against Newmains and it was a bit of a chaotic game, so we will be hoping that we don’t have a repeat of that.
“We want to put in a good performance and banish the ghosts of that 5-5 draw.
“We’ve had three weeks off of league games now, so hopefully the boys are raring to go on Saturday.
“We’ve had some good weeks on the training pitch and some good friendlies to keep us ticking over, but we want to get the league games again.”
Kick-off on Saturday is 2pm.