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The month began with a solid win against Hamilton. a goal from Doolan gave us the lead, before Bannigan doubled the lead late on. Hamilton pulled one back to make it a shaky end to the game but in the end we managed to see it through to the end. Next up was a very hard fought win against St Mirren, falling behind to a Callum Ball goal before Joel Lindpere brought us level. David Wilson scored his first goal for the club with 9 minutes left to secure a valuable 3 points for the club.

Our first real, real disappointment of the season came at home against Aberdeen, as we were unable to score for only the second time all season and our first loss in 10 league matches. The loss saw us pulled closer to Aberdeen, in third, and away from Celtic who are now clear of us at the top of the league. We followed this up, however, with a much improved performance in our Scottish Cup opener. We fell behind due to a bizarre own goal by Danny Seaborne, but in the end we were simply much superior to Motherwell and ran out very comfortable 6-1 winners. Next up in our cup run is Falkirk, a club playing in the Scottish Championship - the second tier.

On the back of this, we have slipped back a bit from Celtic, but we still sit second in the table which up to this point is a remarkable achievement. If you'd offered me this at the start of the season, I'd have absolutely taken it so to be in this position is a great achievement. We are also 8 points clear of Aberdeen in third which gives us a fair bit of room to work with, and allows us to slip up to some degree should that happen

The month started with a confident performance against Motherwell, with goals from Kris Doolan and Steven Lawless giving us a 3-0 lead before James Vincent pulled one back for the Lanarkshire side. And so our march continued, and it was Dundee United, themselves struggling and with a manager (coincidentally also a former Thistle manager) under pressure, whom we faced next. It was a shock therefore, to see them go into half time with a 2-0 lead. However, we then rallied after the break and soon found ourselves level, and then ahead! We were pegged back once more to 3-3, before in the dying minutes of the game, Stevie Lawless struck to give us a crucial win.

We ended the month by drawing with St Johnstone with Callum Booth's freekick saving a point after we'd fallen behind. These dropped points meant that we came off top place in the league, but still being in second place after 3 months of the season was much more than I expected at this stage.

On the back of a cracking opening month, we had to contend with both the transfer window closing, and taking a rest from competitive action with the international break. Deadline day saw just one player leave the club, as Kallum Higginbotham left to Brighton for an initial 125k, with clauses which could see it rise to over 200k. Was reluctant to see him go, but he wanted away and I feel I have good cover in his position anyway.

We got back to action later in the month against Inverness Caley, and Kris Doolan hat trick, including two penalties, saw us comfortable 3-0 winners over our Highland guests. A very good win against a decent side. We were unable to follow it up with another 3 points as we failed to defeat St Mirren at home, where we definitely had the better of the play, but were unable to make it count in what turend into a pretty dull 0-0 draw.

Next up was our double header with Kilmarnock, starting off with League Cup action. While the league cup is looked down on in some countries and quarters as being unimportant, in a country which has been historically dominated by two teams to the extent which Scotland has, the League Cup provides a twice annual chance at glory for the other clubs. It was a real shame, therefore, that I was knocked out by Kilmarnock, losing 3-1 in a game that we really didn't show up for.

We rounded out the month with another match against Killie, this time in the league and this time we were on the right end of the result, triumphing 1-0, thanks to a Christie Elliott goal. That result meant that we had lost just one of our first 8 in the league, a truly great run of form from ourselves. It also letf us sitting top of the league going into October...

We started the month, and season, with the toughest tie in any given season - going away to Parkhead to face Celtic. But we were handed a glorious opportunity to get off to the best possible start when Nir Biton fouled Freddie Frans in the box, and a penalty was awarded. Kris Doolan stepped up and made no mistake from the spot to send us into the lead just 7 minutes into the game! Things almost got better in the 12th minute when a break on the counter presented a chance to Higginbotham, but he fired over the bar. We were to rue that when a corner was headed out to Mubarak Wakaso and he fired in a long range shot to make it 1-1 after 14 minutes. Doolan again found the back of the net after 26 minutes, but this time the linesman's flag came to Celtic's rescue. There was no such rescue for them 10 minutes later, when Doolan again provided the finishing touch and we were 2-1 up and in dreamland. Balatoni then got in on the act, as Celtic struggled to clear a corner and he added a third! 3-1 away to Celtic going into half time is an almost ideal scenario for any visiting side, in what has become a famous ground for its atmosphere and partisan support. The second half started poorly, and our lead was halved to 3-2 when Leigh Griffiths struck inside a minute of the restart. The match, however, petered out for a while at this point, which it had to at some point after a higely eventful first half, before Ryan Stevenson struck in our fourth to restore the 2 goal lead! It didn't last, as Celtic immediately got one back through a Scepovic penalty and it looked to be 4-4 before another goal was chalked off, this time for Anthony Stokes. We managed to see out the rest of the game thankfully and record a huge win, and pick up 3 massive points to start the season.

An uneventful first half was the next thing for us in our first home match, against Ross County. Frans had the only meaningful chance for either side but his effort was blocked and sent wide. After the half, however, we grabbed the initiative and took the lead through a great wee Higginboitham goal. Saintot managed to get a goal on his debut for the club to wrap up the points and make it 2 out of 2.

We were brought back down to earth with defeat against Dundee, in a game we could have won had we taken our chances but we simply didn't and in the end a single David Clarkson goal was enough to condemn us to defeat in our first trip to Tayside.

Following this, we managed to agree a deal with Stenhousemuir for them to become a feeder club. Plying their trade in the League 1, the third tier of Scottish football, they are an ideal candidate to allow me to loan some of my young stars to develop them and aid their development into first team regulars. Pierre Saintot will be the first one to make this trip, leaving for two months to get some regular game time.

Next up, we got back to league action at Firhill, this time for the visit of Hamilton Accies. Lindpere got his first for the club to put us in the lead after just 2 minutes, before we squandered a handful of chances to extend that lead. Following this, we could have no complaints when Accies equalised on the stroke of half time. However, in the second half, Steven Lawless, making his first appearance of the season managed to give us the lead back, and we made sure of the 3 points late on when Lyle Taylor's drilled cross was met by Stevenson for his second of the season.

Our game against Ayr United in the League Cup was as routine as they come, with goals from Taylor and Booth seeing us very safely into the next round of the competition without getting out of first gear.

We ended the month against Aberdeen, one of the strongest teams in the league, and once again our lead came through a Kris Doolan penalty kick in the early stages of the match. After this we were very much the second best team on the day, but somehow manage to survive a series of chances and half chances for the hosts, and saw the result out to get the 3 points, even despite Abdul Osman's late red card.

All of that means that we sit 3rd in the table at the end of August, tied on points with 1st and 2nd. A very encouraging start to the campaign, and if we are able to keep it up we'll have a very successful season.

When joining a new club, the first thing to have a look at and deal with is not, in my opinion, the squad but rather the backroom staff who are the key, in my opinion, to building a successful club. With that in mind, I evaluated the staff that had been at the club and found that rather than keep a lot of them, a better option would be to bring in a large number of new faces. It was due to this that Joe McLaughlin was brought in to be my assistant manager, probably the most important role within the club outwith myself as manager. On the coaching front, I brought in Arthur Albiston, Joe Corrigan, John Clayton and Ross Preston. Finally, with a real dearth of quality scouts at the club, a role which is crucial in obviously identifying and looking at new talent for the playing squad, I decided to employ the services of Paul Montgomery, Ian Storey-Moore and George Rooney. With, what I hope will be, a very solid backroom staff in place (for the time being at least), it was time to move on and address some of the issues with the squad I'd inherited.

With all of that taken care of for the season, it was time to address the playing squad. This proved to be slightly more problematic than I had hoped, as the players I could afford in the positions I had identified weren't good enough to improve my squad, and the ones who could improve my squad weren't within my budget and consequently I couldn't afford. Therefore, I resorted to bringing in just two players, one for the first team immediately and one whom I hope can grow into a really useful player to have around Firhill.

First up, is my signing for the first team, and that comes in the form of 32 year old Estonian Joel Lindpere. He joins the club after spells in his native Estonia alongside Bulgaria, Norway, The USA and most recently in the Czech top flight with Banik Ostrava. A highly experienced international with real technical ability, I'm hoping that he can be a good player on the park but also help off it with the development of some of my younger players. He joins on a 2 year deal.

Next up was one for the future, and that comes in the form of 21 year old Frenchman Pierre Saintot. After being released by ESTAC Troyes in his homeland, he has come to Firhill hoping to rebuild his career. It is a strategy that has worked for quite a few current and former Thistle stars, all of whom join after their release from supposedly bigger clubs and flourish in the famous red and yellow. He is a young striker, with a good touch and finishing and a wee touch of pace, but he is certainly a raw player and needs a lot of work before he'll be up to the standard required by the club. He has signed a 4 year deal, which shows that he certainly has the potential to make the difference in the future.

In terms of players departing the squad, despite strong interest in a few of my key players such as Doolan and O'Donnell, there were no permanent departures from the club. The only outward transfers were Keenan and McDaid, both of whom have gone on six month loan deals, to Ayr and Airdrieonians respectively. A good move all round, as they are unlikely to get into my team as things stand but I certainly want them to be getting some game time at this stage in their development.

There may be a few more ins and outs as the transfer window still has 3 weeks to go, but unless any real gems present themselves or there's a "can't say no to" kind of offer I wouldn't expect to see too much in this window.



The Pre-season friendlies went largely to script, I beat the teams I should be beating, lost to the ones I should be losing to and had a hard fought draw against a Crewe side I would imagine are of a similar standard to myself. These games are mainly just to get a bit of match fitness anyway, and the results aren't important but we seem to have a slight issue scoring goals. Here's hoping we can rectify that when it actually counts!

That's it and I leave you on the eve of the season beginning, with a tough ask away to Celtic. Coming up this month are...



A tough start against Celtic and tough end against Aberdeen, but all the other games look very winnable from the outset, with us facing both of the newly promoted sides as well as Ross County who finished just 2 points ahead of us at the end of last season. Here we go!

In their first season up, as with most clubs, the aim was survival and nothing more. Staying in the division was all that mattered. And that was achieved, just. But now, the board have decided it's time to be ambitious and are now expecting the side to reach the top six of the Scottish Prempiership and secure that top six finish.



This would be a huge achievement for the club - even finishing sixth would be the best finish since the 1980/81 season! Nevertheless, you have to be ambitious if you want to achieve your goals and I feel the squad is up to the challenge. The board also want us as a minimum to reach the semi final of the Scottish Cup, which would be the first since 2002,

Onto the squad, and there are some areas which I feel need addressed and strengthened if we are to achieve our aims this season.

Goalkeeperscott Fox and Paul Gallacher are my two senior goalkeepers, with Ryan Scully (who is on loan at Dunfermline for the season), Scott Basalaj and Marc Waters in the Under 20's able to provide cover in case of an emergency. This is probably one of the weakest area of my squad, and the one which I am hoping to add a player to most quickly as a good keeper can save a huge deal of points throughout the season. With Gallacher aging and Fox looking like he might not be good enough for where we want to be, I'll need to look for other options.


Defence: One of the stronger areas of my team, Balatoni, Frans and Seaborne give me 3 very good options for centre back, while O'Donnell and McMillan (who can also fill in at left back if needs be) provide two good right backs to give me 3 of my 4 defensive positions filled. Left back is the one real problem area in the back line, and the one that'll need to be looked into, as Booth and Keenan aren't yet, and potentially never will be ready for the higher reaches of the Scottish game. Liam Lindsay, who'll be spending the season at Airdrieonians in the League 1, is one to watch for the future with real potential to be a really good player for the club. The rest aren't up to too much, I'll look to ship Ben Richards-Everton off somewhere either as a full transfer or on loan as he isn't and never will be good enough for the team.


Midfield: Central Midfield is another strong area of my team, with Bannigan, Fraser and Osman all very good options in there to start, and Craigen and Welsh more than capable of providing cover and depth to the squad. In the attacking midfield role, Ryan Stevenson will be my main man, with Higginbotham or Elliott playing right wing and Lawless taking the left wing. Elliot is a good option to have as he can cover both wings, as well as a couple of other positions and as such he'll be used all over the place. I'm going to try and bring in a bit of extra cover for the attacking trio of positions as I want to send McDaid out on loan to try and improve him as I don't think he'll get sufficient game time here, alongside Wilson who I think could be a useful option in the future.


Forwards: With only two established strikers in the squad in the forms of Kris Doolan and Lyle Taylor, it is a position in which I lack any real depth and that is something I'll certainly be looking to bring in. Those two do give me two different style of striker which is handy for tailoring my game plan, but with a real lack of any genuine prospects in the youth team, I'll need to have a look at getting at least one up and coming striker in, and maybe a more experienced one as well for the season ahead.


So that's the squad I've inherited, and while I'll be looking to add a couple of players to it, that will be the basis for my success or failure this season. With a fairly solid spine to the team, we should be capable of achieving our ambitions this year, but you never know in football. Anyway, now that's dealt with, onto the season itself!

Next Update: Pre-Season and Signings

Glasgow. A city where two clubs dominate the footballing scene and have both achieved huge amounts within the domestic game. Rangers have 54 top flight League titles. Celtic have 46. Both have achieved a success on the European stage as well, Celtic winning the European Cup and Rangers the Cup winners Cup, and both have appeared in European finals within the last 15 years. Even Queens Park, a club who now play in the bottom tier of Scottish football have achieved a degree of success in the early days of the game, winning 10 Scottish Cups.

But what of Glasgow's other team - Partick Thistle. A single Scottish cup win in the 1920's, and the most glorious day in the clubs history in 1971 when they defeated Celtic 4-1 to lift the Scottish League Cup. That being said the club has certainly seen more difficult days than memorable ones, being the first Scottish club to really face financial Armageddon back in 1998 before the "Save the Jags" campaign and since then spending the majority of it's days floating around the second or third tier of Scottish football. But no more. Having been promoted after a tough title race in the 2012-13 season, they managed to stay up by the skin of their teeth in their first season up. Now it's time to kick on, and be the success that Thistle's long suffering fans have waited for.

With a talented young squad, a loyal fan base and a sense of optimism around the club there is no doubt that Thistle could go on a be a huge success. Let's make it so.

First things first, I'll tell you the changes that have happened and the 3 new teams in the league this season. Firstly, obviously, Annan Athletic were promoted as champions, and they were also joined by Arbroath who got promoted via the playoff. They were replaced by Stenhousemuir (fierce rivals of ours) and Stirling Albion. Alongside this, the relegation playoff saw Dalbeattie Star get promoted in place of bottom of the league Montrose for the new season.

Now, onto the squad. There was a great deal of change around the squad, as some of last season's squad were punted due to either not being good enough, being on too high a wage for the level of ability they had, not wanting to stay or a combination of all three.


If I'm being brutally honest, the only one of them I'm disappointed to see leave is Tahin, and he was asking for too much money and was, ultimately, utterly replaceable. Alongside this was the fact that both Kjeld McIntyre and Luke Donelly's loan spells at the club ended, so it was clear to see that I had a number of players I needed to replace, and hopefully improve upon, in order to take my team further up the table than we had achieved last season.

My first piece of business was to bring back Kjeld McIntyre, this time on a permanent basis after he had been released by Dumbarton. Already familiar with the club, I hope he can have a big role to play in any successes we have this season. Next up, I felt I had to address the problem position of right midfield which had been a relative weak spot for the team all of last season. To fill this position, I brought in 23 year old Dan Orsi, on a free. He looks a very solid player for this level, unspectacular, but he'll do a good job for the team.

At this point I noticed that the players leaving had left me with only one recognised striker - David McKenna. I thought that I needed firstly cover for the position and also probably someone better than McKenna to come in and make the position their own. It was to this end that I signed both 33 year old David Winters and 19 year old Chris Dillon. It is my intention for Dillon to be my main striker this season, with McKenna second choice and Winters providing cover. As Winters can also play attacking midfield roles he will be useful for covering that position as well.

Next in were Kerr Young, a 21 year old centre back, Keiran Gibbons, a 20 year old central midfielder, and also brought in 17 year old Greig McNaughton, a centre back, on loan from Dundee United. These signings meant that it looked as if I was going to have a very solid spine to my team this season, hopefully a good sign as we look to push up the league table.

That was it as far as signings go so far, may bring in one or two more before the end of the window depending on who becomes available.

Anyway, onto the pre-season friendly regiment, and this season I really looked on these as a money making exercise rather than playing a bunch of teams who I felt confident of beating, I've instead played a series of away fixtures in order to bring in some much needed finance...

I also had a match away against Rangers, which I lost 2-0, but for whatever reason that isn't being counted as being this season. Mainly losses, but like I said the whole point of these games was to get the club to a more secure financial footing, and I've managed to do exactly that...



A much healthier balance, and means that over the course of the season we should see a profit of some kind which is excellent as to really grow as a club, we need to be financially prosperous. It also means that eventually, I should be able to afford to build my own stadium as that's one of the things I really want to achieve as I feel that every club should have its own place to call home and sharing with Stenhousemuir has it's problems.

Onto the season, we've been handed a game away to Brechin, from the League 1, to kick us off in the Challenge Cup, before Hibernian come visiting in the League Cup. The board aren't being too ambitious with what we can achieve this season, again tasking me with a job of not being outclassed too often, and the media are predicting that we'll remain 9th this season, with only new boys Dalbeattie Star below us. Lets prove them wrong and have a successful season! Mon the Shire!

Before we got down to any matches in this quarter, the first thing to deal with was the youth intake, which was on the whole disappointing with only Goalkeeper Darren Kelly looking like he could go on to play a big part in my future with 4 star potential.

Our recent good form also came to a halt at the hands of Clyde, who beat us very soundly 2-0. Not an ideal start to the run in, but still, it would take a monumental collapse and a huge upturn in form at Montrose for us to finish bottom now...

Our development off the park continued as the board granted my request to bring in another coach, and this time I chose to bring in a goalkeeping coach, in the form of 32 year old Mark Peat. A thoroughly decent goalkeeping coach, he should be a good addition to the backroom staff.

On the pitch, however, our form had abandoned us as we slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home to East Fife, which was even more disappointing as we'd been in the lead. Still, a loss for Montrose meant it was still 15 points, and they had just 7 games to make that up now, and with just 3 wins all season it seemed unlikely.

Next up were Champions elect, and runaway leaders Annan, away, and we had another trip to the borders on our hands. We had been soundly beaten last time we faced them on their own patch but this time we managed to go 3 up by half time, and despite conceding a second half goal to make it 3-1, we finished the job and came back with a surprise 3 points. This result was huge, it meant that if we avoided defeat in any one of our final 6 games, or Montrose failed to win any of theirs we'd be mathematically safe.

We lost our next game 1-0 against Arbroath, but thankfully we were gifted safety as Montrose failed to defeat East Fife. A huge relief, job done, we'll still be in the division next year and don't need to worry about the playoff!

I managed to persuade 16 year old Bryan Watt to join the club at this stage, and the bit about him which excites me the most is the line about his 4 star potential, along side 3 and a half star current ability. Not bad for a 16 year old. I also signed up 15 year old John Anderson, another who looks like he could go on to have a big role in the club's future.

Next up were Elgin, and it was here that I chose to give Anderson and Watt their debuts, Anderson starting the match and Watt coming into it later on, and it proved to be a winning debut as goals from McIntyre and two from McKenna saw us defeat the highlanders 3-1, and leave us 5 points behind them with 4 games to go...

Next up were Montrose, who were by now guaranteed to be taking part in a playoff to stay in the division after losing to Queens Park. I decided to bring young Kelly into the fray for this one, and indeed the remaining games, in order to give him a taste of first team action and aid his development in that way, as well as giving Watt his first start for the club, and he proved his worth by providing a great assist for the equaliser after we'd fallen behind via the penalty spot. That was how it ended unfortunately, a very poor result given the calibre of the opposition and the fact that they had nothing to play for.

We followed this up with a dull 0-0 affair against Berwick Rangers, where we were certainly lucky to get a point with young Kelly making a coupe of good saves on route to his first clean sheet, and then we faced Queens Park, knowing that a victory would secure that we finished the season in at least 8th, but alas it wasn't to be and we lost 1-0 to the Glasgow side.

Our season closed with a game against Albion Rovers, and it was a disappointing end of season affair, with us losing 2-0, to mean that we ended the season in 9th postion.



It was disappointing to fall away at the end there as it really looked like we might be able to sneak into 8th, or even 7th at one point, and take the extra prize money that comes with that, but overall the season has be looked at, at the very least, as one where we have achieved our ambitions. Safety, not just hanging on, but a huge 17 points off bottom place is a great achievement considering all the pre-season talk was of us going down and the way we started the season, but that spell in the end of January through February really was the one that made the difference and kept us up. Its a big summer ahead as I'm looking to push up the league next season and maybe challenge for a playoff spot and with quite a few players out of contract it'll be a big summer of change at the club, but I relish the challenge. Mon the Shire!

So, we'd had it tough in the first half of the season, just 3 league wins and a couple of humiliations thrown in there for good measure, but that's just part and parcel of business for East Stirlingshire. Still, we were hopeful that the second half would be more productive and we could push up the table a bit away from danger of the drop. Our efforts to start this mission got off to a poor start when we were defeated 2-0 away to Berwick to make sure we couldn't take 6 points from our trips to England this season, but no complaints in this one as were outplayed.

Next up was the big one. Montrose. Away. A win against the Angus side would be absolutely massive in terms of securing our survival. We went with high hopes, having already beaten them twice this season. After an even first half, things turned for the worse when they went 1-0 up and you'd forgive us if our heads went down given the run of form we were on, but Lerou Tahin didn't read that script and instead brought us level and then ahead! 2-1 up and we should be looking to push on, but alas they then replied within 3 minutes... The match then looked destined for a draw, but with just 4 minutes left we managed to get ahead, with McKenna's cross deflected in by the Montrose defender, and we then survived a late scare to claim 3 priceless points!

Cruelly, rather than a winnable game and a chance to build up momentum, we were scheduled to play runaway leaders Annan next, and rather than roll over and take a beating as we had done on occasion this season we put up a very good fight and were unlucky to lose to a last minute goal.. We lost our next match, against East Fife, by the same scoreline with the good doctor Kenny Deuchar getting two goals to secure the win for the Fifers.

We managed, however, to scrap our way to a credible 2-1 win against Clyde in our next match for a valuable 3 points, with David McKenna getting both goals, once from the spot and once with a bizarre goal where the opposition keeper attempted a clearance and it rebounded off him into an empty net. Still, they all count and we were delighted with the 3 points which, temporarily at least, moved us into eighth.

The next game against Arbroath was a strange one. We took the lead very early, after just 56 seconds, and for the first half, we never looked back, doubling our lead to have a 2-0 half time advantage. After the interval, however, we through all this good early work out the window and conceded 2 goals in 2 minutes to restore parity with them. We then had to hold onto this for most of the match, a brilliant save by Brown keeping us in it, until we were awarded a late penalty which allowed McKenna a chance at the hat trick, which he took, and us a chance at the lead, which we took. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was the end of matters but no, there was still time for another goal for McKenna making it 4-2 after he tapped in the rebound from MacGregor's free kick.

That win had meant that in just 5 games we'd managed as many league wins as we had in the first 19 games of the season, could this be a sign that perhaps our luck was changing? A game against Elgin City, immediately above us in the league was to be the game where this hypothesis was tested. They had also had a game midweek, and this was a good chance to exploit any tiredness in their team, Unfortunately, it wasn't to be, and despite chances at either end, the game fizzled out into a 0-0 draw.

Next up were Albion Rovers, who went down to ten men after just 16 minutes, and we managed to take full advantage, even if we made hard work of it. Luke Donnelly gave us the lead with an absolute screamer from range, before Mark McGuigan brought them level before the break. We passed up a host of chances to take the lead throughout the second half, before finally we took the lead through loanee Kjeld McIntyre's goal, and his second of the game put it beyond all doubt as we went to 4 games unbeaten and by a country mile our best form since I took charge!

We rounded out the quarter by facing Queen's Park, who we were now 3 points ahead of in light of the recent good run of form! We took the lead through an own goal in the first half and looked to be coasting it until a red card for Graeme MacGregor reduced us to 10 men. After this, the tide turned and Queens were on top and eventually got the goal they frankly deserved after 81 minutes. We were able to limit the damage and escape with a draw to remain unbeaten so overall not the worst result in the circumstances.

This has been a much improved spell for the club, and means that we sit 8th, not 9th, and have moved now 15 points off bottom spot with just 9 games left this season! It's looking like we may just achieve our goal of not finishing bottom!

The season began with a challenge cup tie, as it always does for lower league clubs. While we have no real hope of winning this competition, with a few of the bigger clubs including Rangers involved this season it did nevertheless provide a chance of a tie against one of them and a financial wind fall which could help the club massively long term. Before any thought of that, however, we needed to make sure we were in the next round by overcoming Montrose. We managed to hold on until full time against them, in a match which they dominated, before in injury time we struck. Loanee Luke Donnelly struck a lovely long range strike into the corner and we progressed, unconvincingly, but we're in the hat and that's what counts. The next round does not provide a game against any of the big boys but instead another trip to Angus, as we face League 1 side Forfar.

Next up was a big match in the League Cup against Fiercest rivals Falkirk. A game which we were huge underdogs in, and it showed in the first half where they exploited the gulf in class to extend a 4-0 lead at half time. We fought back and restored some pride by scoring twice without reply in the second half but we were never really going to win this one. Take the prize money and move on.

The League finally got underway with another trip up to Montrose. Unfortunately, there was to be no repeat of the Challenge Cup victory and we lost 1-0 after failing to properly clear a corner and they scored when the ball was played back in. A setback, but there's still 35 games to go.

We then had to dust ourselves off and head up to Forfar for the Challenge Cup second round. All the pre-match talk listed Forfar, plying their trade a division above ourselves, as the favourites, and so to watch this match was a joy. We dominated from start to finish, barely gave them a sniff at goal (it took until the 85th minute for them to get a shot on target) and were well worth our 4-0 victory. Onwards to the next round, where we got perhaps the worst possible draw. Dumbarton away. Will probably beat us as they are a class above ourselves but not a big enough team to really get a good payday out of it. Oh well.

After this, I finally got my first "home" game, with Elgin being the visitors for the occasion. Bouyed by the anticipation of a new managerial reign and the thrashing of Forfar midweek, an absolutely gargantuan crowd of 321 turned up for it. They were to leave disappointed, as we could not turn our domination and chances into 3 points, with Elgin's only real attack leading to an equaliser after another Donnelly goal had given us an early lead.

A trip across the border to English based Berwick Rangers was up next, and we having gotten our first points of the season just before we were seeking to take our first league win back up the road with us. After falling behind to a goal which was borderline offside, we managed to restore parity with a quick counter attack where Lerou Tahin got off the mark for the season just before half time. We fell behind again with some very suspect defending, but a great free kick by Greenhill saw us strike back almost immediately after their keeper had handled outside the box. We were under the cosh for the rest of the game, soaking up heavy pressure, being forced to defend and punting long aimless balls for Tahin to chase before just after the 90 minutes were up we got a corner, and a delivery to the near post saw Greene get to the ball first and head home the winner. Job done, our trip to a small town in England saw us leave with the first league win of my reign.

Next up were recently relegated East Fife, again away from home, who had endured a torrid start to the season, with no wins from their first 3. We really needed to win this one and try to build some momentum to put us in a really good position to avoid bottom, or even to challenge for a playoff spot, this season. We were, however, unable to do so, losing 1-0 in an utterly forgettable encounter, their goal being the only highlight. One of those days where both teams were equally bad, but they scored and we didn't so there you go.

In between this match and my Challenge cup game against Dumbarton, I decided to make another signing: 18 year old Gavin Mitchell on a free transfer from divisional rivals Queens Park. Due to them being amateur, I was able to get him without paying a penny and he looks to have bags of potential and can play in a couple of positions so that's definitely a good thing in my squad.

In the match itself, we should have been behind within 10 seconds, having to clear off the line, and then again after 4 minutes which was surely a sign of things to come. As it was, it took until just the 20th minute for them to break the deadlock, and then double that advantage on the 29th minute. After this, clearly comfortable they took their foot off the gas and saw out a comfortable win, outwith a late consolation goal from McKenna, to end our Challenge Cup run. Still, we were the last fourth tier side in the competition so we can be proud of our performance.

Next up were Clyde at home, a team who were made the favourites for the title. They were unable to break down our defence though, and while we offered little going forward it was at least a solid display to grind out a 0-0, even with finishing with ten men through injury.

The draw for the Scottish cup also took place, and gave us a home tie (our first one in any of our 5 cup games so far this season) against Junior side LInlithgow Rose. An interesting tie, and a decent chance at progression I would hope.

Back to League business, we had Annan next, and with a couple of players who would normally be starters missing through injury we again failed to get that first home win, making it 3 draws from 3 in front of our own fans. We took the lead after a scrap in the box saw the ball fall to Greene who made no mistake. The linesman and Ally Brown came to our rescue in the second half with a goal chalked off and a couple of great saves, but unfortunately a rebound fell to Annan striker Peter Weatherston and they were level with just 2 minutes left.

A trip to Coatbrigde side Albion Rovers up next, and we were simply outplayed by a superior team. We held on alright until giving away a stupid penalty in the 37th minute, and then imploded conceding again in the 39th. Albion should have made it 3 just 2 minutes into the second half, Brown making a great save. We pulled one back with a penalty but we were never really in with a shout of anything in this game.

Another cup game next, that Scottish cup match with Linlithgow Rose. Despite being heavy favourites, we actually fell behind to the Junior side in the 4th minute and were lucky not to be 2 down when they struck the bar. Despite this, we managed to fight back to a 2-1 lead at half time. A 68th minute Max Wright header was disallowed which would have made it 3-1, but we still managed to get through this one in the end. We face a trip to Fife and another Championship team away in the next round - Raith Rovers.

We another home draw against Queens Park after this, infuriatingly so as we bossed the game but had to split the points with the bottom side in the division. Away to the league leaders Arbroath rounded off this quarter of the season, and the first half of this was the worst of the season so far. Totally, totally outclassed, and very lucky to only be two goals down at half time. We rallied a bit in the second half, and pulled one back through Greenhill's penalty before Brisbane was unlucky not to get an equaliser, hitting the post, and they required a great save to prevent Tahin scoring just after this. Tahin then had one chopped off for offside as we pushed desperately for an equaliser, but unfortunately it wasn't to be and that shambolic first half cost us in the end to leave us bottom of the league after 9 games.

The first thing which I noticed which was crying out for change was that the club completely lacked any sort of scouting network. This is crucial, without scouts it is that much more difficult to find a good player and build the team, so was something i set about immediately addressing, and I found my first scout in Sean Rennie. I also terminated the contracts of Shaw, WIlliamson and Murray as they simply weren't good enough at their jobs for the level which I aspire to reach. Dougie Aitken was brought in as my assisstant manager, while Ewen Fairgreave became my new physio. I had wanted to bring in another coach, but board restrictions prevented this from taking place unfortunately.

A good pre-season, just the one lost against top flight opposition in the form of Kilmarnock. Mainly playing against Weaker opponents, but a win against Championship Alloa and a draw with Rangers are positive signs for the season to come. My season will kick off away in the Challenge Cup, against Montrose, before a trip to fiercest rivals Falkirk in the League Cup before we finally get the League season under way, also away to Montrose. This season should be a real test, I certainly don't foresee promotion on the cards just yet, but continuing to build towards it is the main thing. One final thing that shows how unlikely a title for us is, the bookies have made us 300/1 to win the title this season...Oh dear. Anyway, you have to start somewhere so here we go, Up the Shire!

Anyone familiar with the world of Scottish football will be familiar with the club who, more often than not, find themselves in, and around, the bottom of the entire Scottish league system - East Stirlingshire FC. Since the year 2000, they've spent every season in the 4th tier of Scottish football, finishing 3rd twice, 7th twice, 8th twice, 9th twice and 10th - very last in the entire league system - seven times, including in five consecutive seasons. In the 2003-04 season, they picked up just 8 points in the whole 36 game campaign. In the entire history, East Stirling have never won a major honour, never even reached the final of any national cup competition, have just a solitary lower league title to their name, and have only ever spent 2 seasons, in the early sixties, in the top flight of Scottish football. They do not have their own stadium, and with reconstruction bringing for the first time the possibility of relegation from the 4th tier, they look like they might be one of the prime candidates to drop out of the national leagues and face a struggle to ever return.

But all that is to change. It is time that East Stirlingshire were no longer the perennial bottom club, and instead became an ambitious club looking at pushing up the league, building its own stadium and getting back to the promised land of the top flight, and maybe even getting that first ever major honour.

The club, as previously mentioned, do not own their own stadium, and instead play at Ochilview park, owned by local rivals Stenhousemuir. They have average training facilities, adequate youth facilities and a fairly basic youth recruitment. They are also realistic about what can be achieved this season, and as you can see, finances are limited.

The basic premise of the save is to try and take Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja, thankfully more commonly referred to as IBV, to the very forefront of the domestic scene in Icelandic football. I've done a couple of saves in Iceland before and thoroughly enjoyed my time there every time. More than this, however, ideally I'd like to take Icelandic football itself to a point where the clubs are no longer simply teams that are put out early doors in the European competitions but instead regularly qualify for the group stages, and even knockout stages of, at least, the Europa League. I realise that it is highly unlikely that I'll ever be able to take a club from Iceland to win a European trophy, but that doesn't mean I can't give it a good go!

The Úrvalsdeild is the top flight of Icelandic football, and is made up of 12 teams who play each other twice between May and September for a total of 22 games a season. There is also the League Cup (known as the Deildabikar), which has a group stage format followed by a knockout round which runs between February and April, and an Icelandic Cup (known as the Borgunarbikar), which runs from April to August in a straight knockout format. There is also a Super Cup, between the winner of the league and Icelandic Cup, which takes place in May

IBV are a club with a long history in Icelandic football, founded in 1903 they have won the top flight 3 times (1979, 1997, 1998), the Icelandic Cup 4 times (1968, 1969, 1972, 1981, 1998), the League Cup once (1997) and the Super Cup 3 times (1980, 1984, 1998). They have also won 4 lower league titles. However, they have won none of the major Icelandic domestic competitions since completing the league and cup double in 1998, and even dropped into the second tier for 2 seasons in the mid 2000's. A lot of work is to be done to take this side from the also-rans that they have become to being the premier team in Icelandic football. The expectations this season are a mid table finish and to reach the quarter final of the Icelandic Cup, although the media is predicting an 8th place finish for us.

The Squad

I only made a handful of signings before the start of the season, with 30 year old German defender Danny Herzig, and 26 year old Danish midfielder Jesper Jensen both joining on free transfers.

Goalkeepers


Abel Dhaira is clearly my current number 1, although Sigurjonsson clearly has a lot of potential so I'll be trying to give him a bit of game time throughout the season to try and make him better. Geirsson isn't good enough and with any luck won't feature at all.

Defence


Herzig and Gudjonsson will be my starting centre back pairing, with Garner filling in if one is injured. Olafsson and Ingason will obviously be the full backs, as they are the only ones I have, although Elisabetarson is a very useful utility player and despite naturally being a defensive midfielder, he can fill in all along the back line.

Midfield


I play a 4-2-3-1 formation, so there will be 2 centre mids, left and right winger, and 1 central attacking midfielder spot to choose players for. The winger spots pick themselves, with Valdimarson on the left, and Porvardarson on the right. In the deeper centre midfielders I'll have, with everyone fit, Jensen and Olaffson, and then ahead of them it'll usually be Jeffs.

Attackers


Glenn is obviously my first choice, with Gunnarsson in reserve. As theres only one striker spot in my team, this position more or less picks itself.

Playoffs 2014/15

Final

Playoffs 2014/15

Semi Final