Keith chairman Andy Troup hopes new boss Andy Roddie can lift the club to the upper echelons of the Highland League.
Roddie and his former Huntly assistant Tommy Wilson were announced as the club’s new management duo yesterday, taking the helm after Dean Donaldson’s resignation last month.
The last time Keith won the Highland League title was the 2006-07 season and they have not won a trophy since the 2013 Highland League Cup.
Roddie turned out for Aberdeen, Motherwell and St Mirren in his playing career, as well as Peterhead and Elgin in the north of Scotland. He has managed Colony Park in the Juniors and had a year-long stint at Christie Park with Wilson that ended in November 2017.
Wilson is a well-known face in Highland League circles, having started out at Celtic as a youngster before playing for Cove Rangers, Huntly, Inverurie Locos and Formartine.
Troup hopes to see the Maroons challenging for glory with the new management team at the helm.
He said: “We want to be challenging, but we have to remember we have financial restraints. With Covid, who knows where that will end up being.
“We want to be in the top six, challenging in the cups and pushing the top boys in the league as far as possible.
“There’s nothing better than a good cup run, but everyone comes in to the league to win it. It’s going to be tough and there’ll be financial restraints at the moment. But we’re working hard to make sure the management team can get what they want and push us up to the top end of the table, along with challenging for other trophies.”
The new Highland League season is a fortnight away, but the Aberdeenshire Cup gets under way for Keith next weekend.
Troup added: “The league obviously starts on the 28th, but we have a game against Huntly next Saturday, so it was very important to have a management team in place.
“Andy has played at a lot higher level and his pedigree is second-to-none. Andy has played Highland League football and higher as well, so the two of them complement each other well.
“They’ve got an enthusiasm for the game and their philosophy for the game is similar to ours. We just seem to fit 100 per cent.”