John Sheran has seen the required standards rise year on year during his time at Cove Rangers. This year will be no different.
The former manager, who had a hugely successful two spells in the dugout at Cove, was part of the process which helped bring Jim McIntyre to the club, in his role as director of football.
McIntyre returned to management this week after three years away, at an ambitious club which has set and met all its targets in the last three seasons.
They are preparing for life in the Championship for the first time, with the fixtures for the new campaign released yesterday.
Sheran, who won five Highland League titles during his time in the Cove dugout, will have a unique perspective on what it takes to succeed at the Aberdeen club. But Cove are also on a different level now to during his last spell in charge, which finished with promotion to the SPFL in 2019.
“I think the times are a bit different – the Highland League is different to where we are now,” said Sheran. “The standards we need to set are a bit higher. We need to go up another level now and we certainly felt Jim could deliver on that.
“He’s managed at a really high level and he’s won things at a high level. We want to see that expectation and standard.
“There were lots of people in employment, people who have had big jobs in the past who’d applied. It’s a reassurance that we’re doing the right things and moving along the right path to get up to the top.
“We’ve a bit to go and it’s going to be a challenge this year. But we’re ready to give it a go.
“Whenever you’re at a football club, the next year has always got to be better than the year before. You’ve got to set that as the standard; you try to improve your squad, you try to improve the facilities at the club. Every year is a new challenge.”
The process to replace Paul Hartley was an unexpected one. His departure to Hartlepool United in the last fortnight came as a surprise, after he appeared to have turned down their initial interest.
But Sheran was heartened by the standard of managers who were applying for the job, with McIntyre emerging as the preferred candidate.
“Having never been through it before it was obviously a bit of a challenge,” added Sheran. “But I think it’s also exciting, because you’re discussing people who are wanting to come join your club.
“We were impressed with the quality of the applicants we got, so it says a lot that Cove were able to attract these guys. Jim was top of the bunch as far as that’s concerned. We’re delighted to have him on board.”