In almost 10 years at K-Park, Martin Fellowes has become pretty familiar with lifting silverware.
But now he wants to claim some in his own right.
The new interim East Kilbride FC boss has gone from kitman to the top job, albeit temporarily it would seem, at his hometown team.
But he comes into the role at a time when they still have silverware in their sights.
While the Lowland League title may be long gone, the club start the defence of their Lowland League Cup – which they won last season under ex-boss Kevin Rutkiewicz – next month away to Gretna on April 29.
Fellowes had been involved in the majority of Kilby’s 11 senior trophy successes since they were founded in 2010 and hopes, as the club’s head of development, he can give Kilby’s academy kids a chance to shine in the defence of their trophy.
The former EKFC youth player said: “We’ve got four leagues games left and then the defence of the Lowland League Cup to come.
“I’d love to defend the trophy and give some younger players some opportunities.
“Kevin and Chris [Aitken] before him have been great at that so I’d like to continue that.
“But I also think it is really important that the players show that this group has still got a lot to give.
“It has been a difficult time for everybody. We know the results haven’t been good enough, but it is not through a lack of trying from players or staff.
“My job is to get these players to show they aren’t a bad team and good players haven’t become bad players overnight.
“We want to win every game between now and the end of the season.
“All we can affect is the next league games and cup campaign.
“We want to give the supporters something to cheer about because it has been a tough year for everybody.
“If I can put some smiles back on faces, I’d be quite happy.”
Fellowes does not expect to be handed the reins on a permanent basis at the end of the campaign, regardless of results, and admits that while he does dream of becoming a manager in the future, he is relishing the development role he currently has at the club.
The 25-year-old said: “When the timing is right, I would like to be a manager at some point.
“But I really love my role with the club right now and working with the younger players.
“The grass isn’t always greener so I don’t have any great desire to be a manager tomorrow.
“Maybe that is 5-10 years away. Who knows? I’ve got a lot of loyalty to East Kilbride.
“The club has provided me with a lot of opportunities over the years and the club means a lot to me.
“I always have it in the back of my head, do I want to be here when the club achieves their goal of promotion?
“If I am somewhere else when that happens I will probably feel like I’m looking from the outside in a little bit.
“There’s a lot of great people at the football club and I have no desire to leave it anytime soon.
“If the club brings in a new manager and everything goes back to normal next season, I’ll go back to producing the next first team players.
”That’s fine with me.”
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.
