John Gibson, who steered Kingussie to the 2019 Premiership title – the last time it was contested – is to stay on for a fifth season as manager of The Dell side.
Kings, who begin pre-season training on Tuesday, have appointed sharpshooter Savio Genini as captain and hope to have Thomas Borthwick returning early in the season from cruciate ligament surgery.
“I indicated that I want to stay on for at least one more season,” revealed Gibson.
“The return of a proper Premiership campaign is the biggest incentive, as it will be for all leading teams.
“The short localised league season last year meant we missed out on league action against the likes of Oban Camanachd and Kyles Athletic.
“Beating Newtonmore four times was enjoyable but it made us look better than we proved to be – and probably the reverse for them.
“Winning the Macaulay Cup was fine, but we missed out on the Camanachd and MacTavish trophies, won by Kinlochshiel, who have a big target on their back this year.
“There are six or seven Premiership teams who can beat anyone on their day, so it’s going to be a tough title defence.”
Gamekeeper Genini is delighted to be chosen as skipper, particularly as Kingussie is due to host this autumn’s Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup final.
Classy wing centre Thomas Borthwick, out since July when he was injured in the Macaulay Cup win over Newtonmore, will rejoin training next week.
Gibson said: “Thomas has been doing some running with no setbacks but we don’t know yet how near he is to playing a game.
“It’ll be good to see him training, but he’s such an important player that we won’t risk him in a match until he’s 100 per cent.”
Neil Bowman, the former coach of the Royal Marines Biathlon Team, will be in charge of the team’s fitness for an astonishing 26th season.
Gibson said: “What Neil’s done for us is second to none.
“He’s such a big part of what we do and I’m pleased he’s committed to stay on.”
The manager added: “We’ll train on Kingussie High School pitch until we can get indoors later this month to step up fitness and stickwork, as it’s important to get off to a good Premiership start in March.
“Our fingers are crossed that we finally host the Camanachd final, which is a massive target for us, particularly after the disappointment of losing to Lovat in last year’s semi-final.
“But we’re not looking too far ahead. Our focus has to be on being ready and organised for a strong start to the season.”