Q. There isn’t much of a break these days between the end of the season and the start of pre-season training – but it must be good to get back in action again?
“Yes, it was only a short break between the end of last season (the League Cup Final against Sauchie) and the start of pre-season training, but that can also be a good thing. Player sharpness and fitness levels do not drop as much, if it is only a short break. The initial focus was on a lot of running and fitness training. Preparations have been going well.”
Q. It must always be exciting to welcome new players?
“We’ve had the new players settling in well. That always helps. Everyone is bonding quite quickly. Although we lost a few players at the end of last season, we have brought a lot of quality in which is great for the club. Hopefully that will give us something to build on.”
Q. You are now officially club captain – that must be something you’re proud of?
“I was vice captain last year and was made captain officially at the end of the season. It was a really good feeling. I’m from Haddington and used to play for the youth section – since I was about eight or nine years old – so I’m proud to captain my local team.”
Q. How important is your role as captain?
“Good leadership is important although in some ways it doesn’t change much. Everyone in the changing room has high expectations of each other. I personally need to set an example for the younger players, including the U20s and I know the other senior players try to do the same, to help the younger boys as much as possible. Everyone knows how good we are as a group so it’s about encouraging each other, working hard and being positive.”
Q. How do you reflect now on last season and what are your hopes for the 2024/25 campaign?
“We were unlucky with injuries last season, otherwise we would have been pushing higher up the table. Hopefully with fewer injuries we can get on a good run early in the season. We will be looking to push further up the table and maybe challenge for the title. It will be a tough season again and good teams have been promoted, but we have brought quality to the club so a good season is realistic.
“Hopefully we can go on a good cup run too – whether it’s the League Cup or the South Challenge Cup. There are opportunities. We did really well in the League Cup last season and just fell short in the end, but it showed what we can do. We would like to progress in the Scottish Cup again. The club has done well previously in the Scottish Cup but we were obviously disappointed to go out at the first hurdle last season, against St Andrews. The whole club was disappointed. But we started putting results together at the end of last season so it shows what we can achieve.”
