Stevie Aitken admits it was a special moment to welcome fans back for the first time since he took charge at East Kilbride.
A sell-out crowd entered K-Park for the pre-season friendly against Partick Thistle after Covid restrictions eased.
There was a joyous atmosphere within the ground as Kilby produced a spirited performance against their Championship opposition.
EK boss Aitken was delighted to play in front of the home support and he hopes it’s a sign of a return to normality.
Aitken said: “It’s the first time I’ve managed at K-Park with fans and what a difference it made.
"There was a proper atmosphere around the place at kick-off and the players thrived off that.
“It’s so important and it’s really encouraging going forward. Hopefully there are no issues this season and the supporters can be here every second week.
“We want them to be delighted with what we’re doing on the park and you can see glimpses that we are heading in the right direction.”
Despite an encouraging performance, Thistle secured a last-minute win courtesy of substitute Gospel Ocholi’s strike.
Neil McLaughlin equalised for Kilby on 80 minutes with a brilliant low finish after Brian Graham fired Thistle ahead in the first-half.
Kilby boss Aitken took plenty of positives from the performances and the 44-year-old says it was a perfect warm-up for the Lowland League season.
“I was really impressed with our performance,” Aitken said. “Partick Thistle had a really strong team out, especially in the first team, and they have some quality footballers with experience.
“We knew that they’d have lots of the ball but I thought our players handled it really well. They tried to stretch us but our shape was really good and we defended well.
“We had some great chances and on another day, we could have scored a few goals.
"There were some great performances but you are always slightly disappointed to lose at the end.
“It was a great workout for us and it sets us up for the start of the season.”
Former Partick Thistle academy graduate McLaughlin was EK’s best player and he capped a superb performance with a goal.
The 22-year-old was highly regarded as a youngster and Aitken insists he will be an important player this season.
He added: “Neil deserved his goal and it was a brilliant finish after some fantastic work. Everybody that talks about Neil knows how good he is.
“We are working really hard with him and he has so much to offer us this season.
"People would pay a lot of money to watch Neil with the way that he takes the ball.
“He’s scored three goals in three games now and he’s a player that the fans will love.”
Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video
