Harthill in good shape
Harthill Royal co-manager Ali Grier believes the hard work that’s been taking place off the field has put the club in a perfect position to succeed on it once fixtures are underway.
The Gibbshill Park side had begun to turn things around last season before the league was declared null and void due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the gaffer is confident they can take that momentum into the new campaign.
Grier will be co- manager alongside Stevie Barclay at the Royal with Davy Carmichael continuing as coach while William Gardner will be playercoach.
Speaking to the Courier, Grier said: “Dealing with lockdown has been difficult. We didn’t start very well last season and then came back well and looked as if we’d start climbing the table before Covid hit.
“If you’ve got a sensible head on your shoulders then you have to say it ended abruptly for the right reasons and you have to accept it.
“The committee have been in constant dialogue with myself and the management team and we made sure that we stuck to every aspect of the guidelines and followed the rigidly.”
He added: “We had 17 players last season and 15 are still here. We’ve had socially distanced meetings when the guidelines allowed or communicated on our mobiles.
“A lot of the players have seen what we’re trying to do here and all the hard work the committee has put in.
“The park has been done up and is great, the social club has been refurbished, the stand has been done up and we’ve got a new seven-a-side astroturf pitch in place, too.
“That’s got floodlights and we’re looking at getting floodlights for the main park as well which could see us being able to host midweek games down the line.
“Everything off the park at this club is improving and it’s down to the work going on behind the scenes.
“Now it’s mine and Stevie’s job to make sure that’s rewarded and replicated with results on the park.”