SPARTANS enjoyed their most rewarding campaign for five seasons as they won the East of Scotland Premier League title and lifted the prestigious SFA South Region Challenge Cup.
On top of these achievements, Spartans also progressed to Round Four of the Homecoming Scottish Cup where they were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Airdrie United on a near-waterlogged pitch at Excelsior Stadium.
Mike Lawson, Spartans joint manager, reflec
ted on the past ten months, saying: "It was a strange season in many ways because before a ball was kicked we lost three players – Jonny Seeley, Ross Campbell and Kevin Motion – to SFL teams then the first three games were postponed because of the weather.
"However, it turned out to be very satisfying as we won the league for the first time in four seasons. Looking back, sometimes a team can be involved in too many games at the end of a season but because we were knocked out early in two cup competitions everything fell into place.
"Our primary aim each season is to win the Premier Division, win the big SFA Cup and enjoy a run in the Scottish Cup. Some people expect us to win everything although I am a bit more realistic than that.
"We are never going to win the Scottish Cup although I thought that we were a wee bit unlucky against Airdrie and had a goal disallowed. It was another wonderful experience for everyone involved at Spartans.
"I honestly think that Spartans are on a par with the top Junior sides in Scotland. I believe that we can compete with the likes of Linlithgow Star and Pollok. I was actually more delighted that we beat Pollok 1-0 at City Park in the Scottish Cup last season than I was when we defeated both SFL teams Annan Athletic and Elgin City."
Lawson and his co-manager, Sam Lynch are, however, not prepared to rest on their laurels and pre-season training begins this coming Saturday. "We have almost certainly signed an experienced defender and we are currently negotiating with a left-sided player," said Lawson.
"We will also promote from within our second team and U19 squad. We might be losing David Etale who is a soldier and could be off on a tour of duty in the autumn while James Hair is looking for another club where he can play more regular football.
"We will also be playing at our new pitch at Ainslie Park which will be as unfamiliar to us as it will be to our opposition so they will no doubt get a lift when they play there.
"I can honestly say that I am looking forward to this coming season more than I have done probably in the last ten seasons or so. This is an opportunity for Spartans to grow as a club and we want to improve our fan base and encourage people to come along to enjoy our great new facility.
"We want to keep our team fresh and we have a relatively young squad with players like Gavin Malin and Bob Mitchell – who missed out all of last season because of injury – in their early twenties. I'm not only looking forward to this season but the next three or four as well."
The first games at Ainslie Park are scheduled for July 18-19 when Hamilton Academical, Raith Rovers, Blyth Spartans and Spartans play in a four team tournament.
Tynecastle coaching system pays dividendsTYNECASTLE had barely clinched the First Division title when the management team of Keith Summers and Murray Balloch began turning their attentions to next season.
"Our aim at the beginning of the campaign was promotion and, when that was achieved, the championship was our next objective," said Summers. "Our 4-0 win against Gretna clinched the title and Murray and I have been spending our time trying to attract three or four players with Premier Division experience to add to our relatively small squad of only 16 players."
The management team undertook a similar role at the beginning of this season when they signed three players from Peebles who had just been promoted. "We signed Aaron Paterson, Paul Devlin and Gareth Thom and all three of them gave us the experience that we needed," stressed Summers.
Former St Johnstone, Livingston and Gretna player David Bingham is currently a coach with the Fernieside outfit, and Summers enthused: "Bingo's coaching is fantastic. He knows when to be firm with the players and also when to have some banter with them. He has not played in a lot of games but he has never missed a training session or a game. "Alongside our first team we also have the U19s who are superbly coached by David Ross and it is testament to his abilities that we currently have nine players who have graduated through his squad to the first team. Without David bringing through players including Steven Sives, Ross Allum, Gary Cherrie and Mark Cherrie, we would not be the team we are."
The full article contains 842 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
