TRANENT Juniors will make history on Saturday as they play a first competitive game in the fifth tier of Scottish football.
Victory over Darvel just eight weeks ago has propelled the county side into the Scottish Lowland Football League.
East Kilbride, featuring a wealth of Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) experience, are the first visitors to Foresters Park.
Managed by former St Johnstone stalwart Kevin Rutkiewicz, the side features former Motherwell and Dunfermline defender Jonathan Page, ex-Livingston man Gary Miller and Motherwell striker Bob McHugh.
Tranent manager Calum Elliot was looking forward to the game and the challenges that lay ahead over the next nine months.
He said: “They will probably not enjoy coming to us.
“We have got to make it as difficult as possible for them and give ourselves the best chance to do well.
“Everybody is aware of the quality that they have in their squad and they will probably be clear favourites for the game and the league, but we will certainly be ready for them.
“Our aim is to do as best as we can and take it game by game.
“We will see where it takes us.
“Everybody has got ambitions of doing the best they can and it is impossible to predict.
“We are going into the unknown but we will give every game a go.”
The reigning East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) Premier Division champions go into the new season with a number of new faces.
Paul Simpson, Nathan Evans, Brandon Archibald and Thomas Carter have all been brought into the club.
Perhaps the most eye-catching addition, though, is veteran defender Craig Barr, who has played more than 350 senior games.
The 35-year-old enjoyed spells at Livingston and Raith Rovers and was part of the Cowdenbeath side that will join Tranent in the Lowland League this season.
Elliot said: “Craig is somebody I played with and grew up with.
“His experience will be invaluable this season.
“We are a really young squad and I felt we needed to have somebody with his experience to help the group we have got.
“He will fit in really well.”
Tranent won the top flight of the EoSFL on goal difference and followed that triumph up with success in the play-off games with Darvel, winners of the West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL), and St Cuthbert Wanderers, champions of the South of Scotland Football League (SoSFL).
The victory over Darvel at the end of May was followed by an EoSFL League Cup final defeat to Linlithgow Rose in June.
Elliot told Courier Sport he would have preferred a longer pre-season but the team was raring to go.
He said: “I think the boys finished on June 5.
“They had about three weeks off and about two-and-a-half weeks to prepare for the season, which is not ideal.
“We had to give them a break after playing football for basically a full year.
“It is not ideal but we have to look after the players and give them a bit of time off. We are looking forward to Saturday now.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here