Staggies and the Caley Jags have setjim’sstandards
Jim Mcintyre lifted the League Cup with Ross County six years ago.
On Tuesday, he will head to Cliftonhill to face Albion Rovers in the same competition, his first competitive match as Cove Rangers manager.
He doesn’t begin to talk about that 2016 success with his new charges. But Mcintyre believes the Staggies and Inverness Caley Thistle should be the model as Cove prepare for life in Scotland’s second tier.
Having only joined the Highland League in the mid- 1980s, the northeast club have made a dramatic rise up through the ranks, winning a place in the senior leagues in May, 2019.
While logic suggests they will hit the glass ceiling in the coming year in a division which will include Dundee, the Caley Jags and Partick Thistle, Mcintyre insists it would be a mistake to put a limit on their ambitions.
“My predecessor, Paul Hartley, did a fantastic job to take this club up to the Championship before he went to Hartlepool,” said Mcintyre.
“Cove’s loss has been my gain. His departure allowed me to get back working in a job I love, and at a decent level, too.
“My board have told me the main t a rg e t should be to stay in the division. I understand their thinking because it looks very competitive.
“Dundee have come down from the Premiership, and will be out to emulate the achievements of Hearts and Kilmarnock, who got themselves straight back up.
“So you would fancy they would be strong, and after that you look to the ones who missed out in the play- offs last season – In v e r n e s s, Arbroath and Partick Thistle.
“You throw in the likes of Hamilton Accies, Raith Rove r s, Mo r t o n and Queen’s Park – who have spent a lot of money – and you have to think every game will be a test.
“But Inverness Caley Thistle and Ross County are the standard we should be working towards.
“It is almost taken for granted now, but their roots are the same as ours. They came from the Highland League, and have each gone on to win one of the major domestic honours.
“That is exceptional. “Everyone at Cove is hugely excited about next season, with two new stands going up to help meet demand. It is up to us to try to keep the momentum going.”
Only appointed to the post in the middle of June after three years out of the game, Mcintyre admits he has had his work cut out to get his squad ready for the big kick-off.
“We don’t have a youth set-up we can just dip into to make up the numbers,” he said. “But I have been here before with other clubs, so I know it will work out.”