Banks o’ Dee president Brian Winton believes they are now ready to make the step up to the Breedon Highland League.
Prior to the pyramid opening up Dee have previously been close to moving up from the Juniors.
The Aberdeen side applied to join the Highland League in 2009 but weren’t successful, while they were also mooted as a possible replacement for Cove Rangers following their promotion to the SPFL three years ago.
But Spain Park supremo Winton believes not stepping up on those occasions has been a blessing in disguise.
It all comes down to this 👀
On Saturday we welcome @FortWilliamFC to Spain Park for the 1st leg of the Scottish Highland League pyramid play off.
£10/£5 on the gate. We hope to see you all there 💙 pic.twitter.com/h2s5YvBjL2
— Banks O' Dee FC (@banksodeejfc) April 17, 2022
He said: “People at our club were a bit nervous, but I think over the last few years we’ve shown we’ve got a structure in place to make the step up.
“All the things you do in the background help you prepare, my view is that when Banks o’ Dee applied in 2009 they weren’t ready to go into the Highland League.
“It was probably a godsend that they didn’t get in because none of the upgrades that have been done would have been done because of the operational costs.
“We’ve had time to catch our breath and hopefully build something that should be sustainable.”
Solid base in place
Over the last decade, Banks o’ Dee have upgraded their facilities significantly in preparation for a potential move up the pyramid.
Winton added: “We embarked on this process about 10 years ago and the first phase was to put down the new astroturf pitch and upgrade the floodlights.
“Since then we’ve upgraded changing rooms, boardrooms, physio rooms and all these things that people don’t see when they come to a game.
“I’ve always believed if we were going to try to get promoted then we need to have a stable base to do it from.
“After 10 years the pitch needed replaced and we’ve also put new LED lights into the floodlights.
“The final phase of the project is in June when we’re going to put solar panels on the roof to generate our own power.
“That will be an important saving for us and we need to look at new ways of generating cash for next season if we’re in the Highland League.
“Financially it doesn’t make a lot of sense to go up, footballing-wise it does, but if we go up there will be more operational costs.
“We’re looking at the whole financial model and how we would sustain it in the Highland League.”