East Kilbride boss Chris Aitken says an injury to new signing Bernard Coll summed up his side’s campaign – but he and Liam Watt will prove to be quality additions.
Coll is the club’s record appearance holder and returns to K-Park after a spell in the SPFL with Forfar Athletic and Stenhousemuir.
Watt, meanwhile, links up with Aitken’s men following a fruitful stint with East Fife.
Both were signed prior to a convincing 5-0 South Challenge Cup win over Cumbernauld Colts, in which Coll was hurt.
Aitken was frustrated by the injury but insists that after key men like Gregg Wylde and Chris Erskine left the club, getting fresh blood in was key.
He said: “It just seems to be the way our whole season has gone, after Bernard pulling up on 14 minutes. It looks as if he’ll be out for a couple of weeks, but we won’t feel sorry for ourselves.
“It’s two great additions for us. I was delighted to get them in as we have all seen people leaving. They are asking what was happening there with people not coming in, so it’s good to get a couple of players in.
“It’s good for the group to have new players added to it. I knew Liam from my time at Stranraer and having played him several times.
“We know how much of an influence Bernard has at the club so it was good to get the two of them over the line. It’s just unfortunate Bernard got injured, but that’s football.”
Aitken believes that Coll’s signing could be a big one for Kilby morale. His trophy haul at K-Park includes winning two Lowland League titles, two South Region Challenge Cups, two Lowland League Cups, two East of Scotland Qualifying Cups and one East of Scotland Cup.
The EK boss explained: “All these wee things do make a big difference to everyone at the club. It’s not just the players, it’s the board and the fans. It was a good one for us to get, so hopefully he isn’t out too long.”
Sitting fifth in the Lowland League, a win over sixth-placed Civil Service Strollers on Saturday would put East Kilbride eight points clear of the capital side with games in hand.
Aitken added: “It was a great performance last Saturday and if we had scored a few more, I don’t think people would have said we didn’t deserve it.
“It’s another big game this Saturday so we have started preparing for that. We need to make sure we are ready. The players’ application has been second to none.
“Is the top five our goal? My honest answer is no. For a club like ourselves, we should be doing better than that and we have to be aiming higher than that, which we are.
“But if we get a good result it gives us a good gap between us and them. We want to finish as high as we can and guys are playing for contracts for next season.”
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