East of Scotland kick-off: Haddington Athletic better equipped for second season in the top-flight

Haddington Athletic manager Scott Bonar is hoping to start the season with three points

Haddington Athletic boss Scott Bonar believes his squad is in a good place as they kick-off their second East of Scotland Premier Division campaign this afternoon.

The Hi-Hi entertain Crossgates Primrose at Millfield Park as the four-leagues in the East of Scotland set-up all get underway.

After an impressive maiden Premier Division campaign last year, which saw Haddington secure a seventh-place finish, Bonar is confident his side are better equipped this time around with a season in the top-flight under their belt.

“There is a right good feeling about us, a right togetherness, and a good team spirit,” said Bonar. “The boys have worked their socks off, they have really worked hard. The whole feel of the place, there is a right good buzz about it. The players we have brought in are all good lads with the right attitudes.

“It’s hard to compete budget wise [with other teams], so I just need to be more creative and try to find those wee gems.

“Our aspirations are just to get as high up the league as possible. We are ambitious as a club; it’s just managing expectations budget-wise as a club. Just being in the league is a positive, but we want to build something and come through the pyramid system. I am not just focussing on the first team; I am getting my antennas into the whole place so we can build a club from the bottom up and have a conveyor belt of talent coming through.”

All 16 Premier Division clubs will be looking to follow in the footsteps of last season’s champions Linlithgow Rose who secured promotion to the Lowland League. Rose were big favourites for the title this time last year, but there doesn’t look to be an out and out favourite for the league crown this season.

Bonar continued: “The league is going to be tough in general, it’s going to be hard every week. The beauty of it this season is we aren’t going in blind and naïve, we know what we are going into; we are used to going to these venues.

“You’ve got Sauchie, Musselburgh have brought some good players in, Jeanfield will always be dangerous, and you have the new teams coming in, they will all be hard games. It’s going to be a hard league. Nobody really speaks about Hutchie [Vale], but they were one of the form teams towards the end of the season.”

While Haddington host Crossgates, East Lothian neighbours Dunbar United and Musselburgh Athletic are also in action on home soil, against Dundonald Bluebell and Luncarty, respectively. Lewis Coult takes charge of his first match as Penicuik Athletic boss as they take on Kinnoull at the newly-renamed Montgomery Park, in memory of the late Penicuik councillor Adam Montgomery.

Elsewhere, Ryan Harding’s Hutchison Vale, renamed from Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale to be in line with their youth arm, start the campaign against Sauchie at Ainslie Park, while Tynecastle are also in home action at Meggetland as they face Hill of Beath.

Stay tuned for reaction to Saturday’s matches.