New Buckie Thistle manager Lewis MacKinnon wants to build on the good work of his predecessor in his first season in charge.
The Jags are Breedon Highland League champions, but it has been a summer of change at Victoria Park.
Graeme Stewart resigned as manager in May after nine years in the job with Buckie quickly appointing MacKinnon, who had been Stewart’s assistant, as gaffer.
Within the Thistle squad key players from last term’s title triumph Jack Murray, Max Barry and Scott Adams have moved on.
Looking at the season ahead MacKinnon is aiming to replicate on Stewart’s success and deliver further glory for the Moray club.
He said: “It’s good that the club has shown the faith in me to continue from where Graeme left off.
“It’s an honour for me to manage Buckie, it’s a big club in the Highland League with a great fanbase.
“The previous managers include Graeme, Gregg Carrol and Duncan Shearer, these guys were all successful so to follow in their footsteps is an honour.
“Our hope and our target is to try to retain our title. We’d like to get more points and try to win cup competitions as well.
“We make no bones about what our targets are: to retain the title, get more points and try to win a cup as well.
“But we know it will be tough, teams right across the league have been strengthening and trying to retain a title is always harder than winning it the first time.
“We need to make sure we still have that hunger and make sure we don’t rest on our laurels.”
Jags can push on again
Something that gives MacKinnon optimism Buckie can win trophies again this season is his summer recruitment.
Centre-back Innes McKay and midfielder Fraser Robertson have been signed from Deveronvale and Rothes respectively and look to be replacements for Murray and Barry who have stepped up to the SPFL with Elgin City and Peterhead, while ex-Inverness Caledonian Thistle goalkeeper Mark Ridgers has also been recruited.
MacKinnon believes his refreshed squad can improve on what they did last term and added: “It will be a different Buckie side because we don’t have Jack or Max.
“Jack and Max were the two best players in the league last season in my opinion.
“We’ve lost them, but we’ve taken in Innes, Fraser and Mark who I think will be brilliant for us.
“They bring different attributes to Jack and Max, but they also bring similar attributes.
“We’ll see how it pans out, but there will be some slight changes.
“Graeme has gone and I’m the manager now, we had the same philosophy but there will be slight tweaks.
“I’m happy with our transfer business and the faces we’ve brought in. I know we need a strong squad and I think we’ve got it.
“It might sound crazy, but I think even though we’ve lost Jack and Max we can push on again.
“I think we can win more than one trophy, I think we can get more points in the league and challenge to go up.
“I’m confident we can do that this season if we implement the ideas we’ve been working on.”
Captain’s return a big boost for Buckie
Meanwhile, MacKinnon says having club captain Kevin Fraser available again will be akin to a new signing for Buckie.
The Jags skipper has returned to training in pre-season after being out since August 2022 with a groin injury.
As a result the 33-year-old has missed two cup finals, last year’s final day title-decider against Brechin City, the championship victory this year and January’s Scottish Cup clash with Celtic.
MacKinnon said: “Kevin’s been back training in pre-season which has been brilliant.
“If I get Kevin back even at 70% of what he was before I’ll be over the moon.
“He’s a brilliant person to have around the place and his ability is phenomenal.
“Having Kevin back is like a new signing for us.
“Kevin has missed a lot of big games: title deciders, cup finals and the Scottish Cup tie against Celtic.
“He’s desperate to get back and he’s naturally fit so I think he’s still got a lot of years ahead of him.
“He’s intelligent and knows the game so he can continue to adapt and will be an important player for us this season.”