Craig Brown reckons he can get East Kilbride firing at the top of the West League 1 table – because they share his ambition and drive.
Brown joins the Torrance House club, having come through the ranks at GHA over the last eight years, and liked what he heard from a conversation with EK president Bruce Beggans.
He says the fact players still had the drive even after some heavy defeats last season shows they can succeed with his knowledge of the game.
“Last season was a bit stop-start with Covid and I don’t think some of the results East Kilbride had were reflective upon the ability of the team when I saw the drive in them,” he said.
“I saw that they were losing, and sometimes being hammered, but they didn’t give up, they kept on running, so that drive to win is still there.
“If I can give them that skill-set and the game knowledge to let them handle situations a bit better, I think we’ll do better this season.
“I’ve got my eyes focused on the business end of the table, so somewhere at the top would be perfect, and if we’re not in there competing I will be disappointed.”
Brown’s background in coaching comes entirely from the Glasgow club, but it has provided him with a good grounding.
He said: “I’ve done all my coaching in GHA all the way through the junior section up to the seniors, and I was looking for the opportunity to take change of my own team.
“It came up at East Kilbride, they have a lot of ambition and I’m quite an ambitious guy as well, so we were on the same lines, really, and here we are.
“It has been a really great club to join. I think I’m really lucky with the people I’m working with and the players that I’ve got, so I’m quite happy with that.
“Everybody focuses on the seniors, but the reality is that the junior section is massive and really well run, so a big part of my job since coming in has been connecting with that.
“It has been about getting to know how the club runs, the values of the club and how I can help support and drive those values forward.”
Brown added: “The previous coach, Allan Steel, had been here for a long time and that spoke volumes to me.
“The guys who are there don’t bounce from club to club, they’re there for the duration, and they’re all really committed.
“It’s more than a team, it’s definitely got the feel of a family club, and that was really attractive and important.
“I’ve had such a long time with the guys in pre-season, getting to know them, how they work and how they like to play rugby, to get an understanding of what they liked about rugby and why they wanted to play the style of rugby that they wanted to play.
“That meant I could change the way I coached, and the way we set out our objectives, based on what they actually want to achieve.”
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