East Kilbride Rugby Club boss Allan Steel has set his sights on a league and cup double next season after his side came up agonisingly short in this season’s title race.
The Torrance House outfit finished their season top of West Division One last month, but rivals Greenock Wanderers and Allan Glens still had games in hand.
Allan Glens have now overtaken East Kilbride at the top of the table on points difference and this weekend Greenock, who sit third, will play Annan in the league’s final match of the season.
A win for them will secure the title and sole promotion spot.
It’s a sore one for Steel, but he insists he has been so impressed by his charges this season he is challenging them to clean up in the next campaign.
He said: “It’s one of those seasons where we’ll look back a few years down the line and think about what could have been, but at the end of the day the title wasn’t our target from the offset.
“This season was about building and we are looking really good for next season if they players can put the commitment in.
“Next year our target is to win everything.
“We can get to Murrayfield and win the cup and we can win this league next season.
“I believe as a coach, from what I’ve seen, there’s no reason we can’t go and do both.
“It’s all down to the players to put the work in over the summer and come back stronger.
“I’m looking forward to next season already.”
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EK only lost three times in 22 league outings this season, falling to Greenock and Allan Glens by fine margins and, most crucially, mid-table Irvine in October.
“Not picking up bonus points and gifting games to teams – like we did against Allan Glens – have cost us,” Steel admitted.
“But we’ve bled five or six youngsters into the squad and on the whole we’ve improved massively from the start of the season.
“It shows the players what they really have to do to perform at this level.
“They’ve got six weeks off now, but we’ve given them a programme to work on to get in better condition for next season.
“I’m proud of the performances we’ve put in and I’m proud of the players this season.
“What we’ve got now is an exciting brand of rugby that is enjoyable to watch for the supporters and the coaches.”
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