Published: Thursday, 29th July, 2010 9:27am

Clubs' countdown to new Juniors season

After a close season lasting barely two months for most clubs, and even less in some cases, junior football clubs are back in competitive action next week as the 2010/11 campaign gets under way.

East Region officials elected to bring the start of the season forward by one week, mindful of last season's fixture chaos, and East Lothian clubs face a hectic schedule of six League Cup ties in the space of a fortnight.

On Wednesday evening Foresters Park hosts the first county derby of the new season when Tranent Juniors play host to Haddington Athletic, while Musselburgh Athletic venture to Midlothian to take on Arniston Rangers. Dunbar United don't start until next Saturday as the odd team in a section of seven.

Signing news has been fairly thin on the ground over a mostly quiet summer but clubs are gradually finalising their squads for the season ahead. Pre-season friendly fixtures have been scarcer than normal given the earlier competitive start, with the League Cup considered by many managers to be a continuation of their preparations for the serious business of gathering league points.

Musselburgh will take the field at Arniston's Newbyres Park on Wedneday evening less than seven weeks since they wound up an epic 2009/10, which saw them comfortably survive their first Superleague campaign and finish runners-up after two close cup finals.

They go into their meeting with Premier League outfit Arniston with three friendly games under their belt - they met Easthouses Lily last Tuesday night, while this weekend they are one of four participants in Spartans' annual Ronnie Swan Tournament, along with the host club's two main teams and old rivals Newtongrange Star.

The semi-finals will be played at Ainslie Park on Saturday, with the final and the third/fourth place play-off scheduled for Sunday afternoon. The Musselburgh squad this season shows a number of changes, with half a dozen key men having departed Olive Bank over the past few weeks.

Player/coach Iain Ramage has hung up his boots after a long career, Paul Tansey has been snapped up by East Fife and Ryan McCallum has moved to Bonnyrigg Rose, while Adam Nelson has gone to Linlithgow Rose and Scott Devlin will be wearing Spartans Juniors colours this weekend.

The one new recruit publicised to date is Alan Morgan, a 26-year-old midfielder latterly playing with Musselburgh Amateurs after injury problems curtailed his senior career - he was on the books of Blackburn Rovers, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Kilmarnock.

As they enter their centenary season Tranent must look forward with the aim of succeeding where they have narrowly failed over the past couple of years and securing the South Division title which guarantees Premier League football.

The memories of May's events remain fresh, when they allowed the coveted prize to slip from their grasp when promotion seemed all but assured, but manager Brian Johnston has retained the services of the majority of last season's squad and those players will be determined to make amends.

Those who have left include experienced left-back Paul Parkin, fringe man Danny Munro and short-term signing Ean Grieve, while last season's joint-top scorer Mel Graham is seeking a fresh challenge and is available for transfer. A low-key build-up sees Tranent playing the youth teams of Berwick Rangers and Cowdenbeath ahead of their League Cup opener at Foresters on Wednesday against Haddington Athletic.

The Seasiders have kept a low profile over the summer as manager Davie Lees enters his third season in charge hoping to at the very least consolidate his young side as a strong mid-table outfit.

There's little news as yet of changes to the playing squad but a clearer picture will emerge shortly. Dunbar's League Cup section has seven teams and they are the first team to sit out a round of fixtures, so instead of starting their competitive season in midweek they have a full week left before their season starts for real.

Last Wednesday they played host for a third successive season to Northern Alliance side Berwick United, with the match taking place on one of Hallhill's outer pitches as the New Countess Park is readied for action. This Wednesday night brings a visit from a Hearts XI.

Since taking the managerial reins at Millfield in late March, Stevie McLeish has been busy preparing for his first full season in charge. Pre-season training has been condensed into a shorter spell than usual, many of the players having trained without a break last year under the previous regime, and the Hi Hi will play just two friendly matches ahead of Wednesday evening's League Cup derby at Tranent.

They met Heriot Watt University for the first time at Riccarton Sports Centre on Tuesday and tomorrow they travel to the Borders to take on Gala Fairydean. 14 players who featured last season remain at Millfield, while new faces

confirmed thus far are goalkeepers Ross Combe (Bonnyrigg Rose) and Willie Turner (Redhall Star), midfielders Michael Gallagher (Inch Colts) and Paul Love (Tranent Juniors U21) and forwards Steven MacDonald (Dalkeith Thistle) and Steven Robertson (Inch Colts).