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Cove Rangers chairman Keith Moorhouse continues to strive for more in centenary year

Cove Rangers chairman Keith Moorhouse. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson
Cove Rangers chairman Keith Moorhouse. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

It is a hallmark of Keith Moorhouse’s time at Cove Rangers they are never totally satisfied with where they are at. More can always be achieved.

They got to the Championship three years into a five-year plan drawn up by Moorhouse when Cove entered the SPFL in 2019.

With the launch of a new book commemorating Cove’s centenary, it has provided Moorhouse with the chance to reflect on his 25-year association with the club, which he followed as a child with his father Cliff.

They have grown beyond the boundaries of being a Highland League club and, with that, Moorhouse wants to put in place the structure which ensures Cove’s time at this level is not a fleeting one.

“There has to be more chapters to be written as the club has to be future-proof,” he said. “We’ve got to this level through the efforts of the players, management team, board and sponsors.

“But to sustain that and kick on again, we’ve got to have a stronger foundation – that doesn’t mean we’ve got a weak foundation, it’s just not wide or deep enough.

“What does that mean? Different people coming in, different skill-sets, different thoughts. But they’re all aligned by the fact they want to win.”

Keith Moorhouse. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson
Keith Moorhouse. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

“I don’t want us to be a yo-yo club,” added Moorhouse. “Other clubs have done that – you look at them and think: ‘what would we do different?’

“We’ve got to challenge ourselves to make the right call. We don’t always make the right call and I’ll hold my hands up to that.

“But we’re always reviewing where we’re at. We’re searching to be better all the time, we have to be.”

Cove is littered with figures who have had a long association with the club.

As well as Moorhouse, secretary Duncan Little, vice-chairman Graham Reid and director of football John Sheran have all been key parts of the journey from midweek trips to Fort William to facing Hibernian at Easter Road.

So what keeps them coming back?

“Winning – it’s all about winning,” said Moorhouse. “There’s no point coming up here if you’re not going to win.

“It’s also about the people who are part of the club. It’s about them being part of the success. That’s what drives me.

“At times I do think we’ve come such a long way in a short time, which is a good and a bad thing. You can experience the feelings of success and promotions, but you don’t have the time to get everything right.

“There’s things we still need to do as a club, behind-the-scenes, to improve our infrastructure and what goes on, on a day-to-day basis.

“We’ll make it happen. We thought we’d have five years to do it, but we did it in three.

“That’s what most of my time is being spent on now, how we strengthen off the park, what we need to do at the end of next season and beyond that.”

The Cove Rangers centenary book, written by former Evening Express sports editor Charlie Allan. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson
The Cove Rangers centenary book, written by former Evening Express sports editor Charlie Allan. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

The book, compiled by former Evening Express sports editor Charlie Allan, includes tales from across the century of Cove’s existence.

Moorhouse, Sheran, Little and honorary president Alan McRae are among the contributors, detailing their rise from being an amateur club to competing in the second-tier of Scottish football.

“It’s a book which we can all be proud of,” said Moorhouse. “The stories are brilliant.

“Chapter one is one to be avoided – which is the one on me – but the guys have got to take credit for that.”

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