Johnstone Burgh boss Jamie McKim believes the club’s capture of Neilston striker Kieran Brophy is proof they are moving up the Renfrewshire ranks.
The Keanie Park side have found themselves struggling to compete with their local rivals Arthurlie, Renfrew and Neilston in recent years, finishing below all three in the junior league set up.
But after gaining promotion last season, Burgh will now compete with Neilston in Division One after the summer, with Renfrew consigned to Division Two.
McKim was delighted to secure Brophy’s signature after their promotion, a move he believes underlines the club’s progress over the last three seasons.
McKim told Express Sport: “We’ve got a few new signings lined up and we’re really excited to have already announced Brophy’s arrival.
“He was probably Neilston’s best player last year and had agreed terms to join St Cadoc’s.
“He came in to train with us, played in our last few games of the season and then decided he wanted to stay with us, which is terrific.
“When I first joined the club, it was Renfrew, Arthurlie and Neilston that would take our best players.
“It says a lot that players now see us as great option too.
“I have the utmost respect for Neilston and we’re really looking forward to competing with them again next season.
“It’s always great to have a derby in the league. Last season, we had Arthurlie and in our last league game with them we had over 600 in at Keanie Park.
“Hopefully, we can manage similar when we take on Neilston.
“You never want to be bottom of the pile with the teams around you, it’s not a nice place to be.
“It’s nice to be off the bottom and, hopefully, we can build a team to really compete in Division One next season.”
While Johnstone Burgh are preparing for their toughest league campaign in a number of years, McKim is still confident his current squad have the capability to rise to the challenge.
He admits they cannot afford as slow a start as they suffered at the beginning of their 2021/22 league campaign though.
McKim said: “This is a very busy close season for us, but if you work hard now it pays off when the league starts.
“I truly believe we belong at this level with the teams we’re going to be up against, but we need to go and prove it.
“This is the highest league we’ve been in for a number of years, so we know it’s going to be a challenge.
“Even without anyone new coming in, I’m still so confident in the boys we have already.
“One thing we simply can’t do this time around though is start as poorly as we did last season. The first half of last season we were really poor.
“We have to build some momentum early on next season and hopefully that will carry us on to a successful campaign.”
