Bathgate Thistle boss Stewart Devine believes his side are heading in the right direction as they continue their preparations for the new season.
The Jags put in a spirited display in a 2-0 friendly defeat at the hands of East of Scotland Premier Division side Broxburn Athletic at the weekend as they get ready for their first campaign in senior football.
Thistle are one of eight West Lothian sides to have made the jump from the Juniors into the senior football pyramid, and will begin life in the eighth tier Conference X in the EoSFL on July 17 when they host Syngenta.
While the Creamery Park side are embarking on a new journey, so too is their gaffer as he prepares for his first season as a manager.
It’s a journey both he and the club are looking forward to, and entering with confidence.
Speaking to the West Lothian Courier, he said: “We’re starting to play the way myself and the coaching staff are wanting to play. We can see they’re starting to take things on board and move forward and improve with each game.
“They’re working hard and I can’t fault anyone for effort. We’re definitely going in the right direction.”
He added: “I think we’ll be in a good place when the season starts. I think we’ve brought in some quality and we’re creating chances, whereas last year I don’t think we created enough.
“I think if we can continue to take steps forward during the pre-season then we can head into the games that matter with confidence.
“We’re two weeks away from the start of the season, which is really the aim in terms of being ready.
“We’ve worked a lot on our shape, which I was pleased with in the game. We want to play football. The pitch at Creamery Park is tremendous and I really think we’d be doing it justice if we didn’t have the gameplan of going out there and playing football.”
Devine was a player/coach last term but made the step up to manager when Andy Colley left to join Camelon.
He admits not pulling the boots on at the weekend is strange, but he still has that same desire to succeed.
“It’s certainly different from playing but I’m really enjoying it,” he said.
“There’s still that buzz you get when you wake up on a Saturday and a drive to succeed, it’s just in a different way now.”
As for the match itself, the Jags gaffer saw plenty of positives despite the scoreline, commenting: “There was lots to be pleased with from the game. Broxburn are a few leagues above us and I think they’ll do very well this season.
“We could have done better in certain areas of the park and they had decent spells throughout the game, but we had a couple of chances and if we take one then we’re asking questions of Broxburn.
“Let’s be honest, we’re expected to come to Albyn Park and get beat but I thought we played some decent football.
“For me, it’s definitely another step in the right direction.”
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