Linlithgow Rose boss Gordon Herd says the club have completed the 'first step' of their journey after being crowned East of Scotland Premier Division champions.
The Rose sealed the deal at the weekend with two games to spare thanks to a 2-1 away win over Haddington Athletic.
An early goal from Alan Sneddon was added two just two minutes after the interval by Connor McMullan before a nervy finish saw Gabri Auriemma pull one back on 73 minutes before Jack Ogilvie saw red late on for the visitors.
There can be little doubt that the Prestonfield men are worthy winners of the 2022/23 East of Scotland Premier Division title.
They’ve won 22 of their 28 games and boast both the highest goals scored and fewest conceded in the division but as the champagne rained down on the Rose’s first title in 10 years, Herd insisted there’s still much more to come from the club.
Speaking to the Courier, he said: “This is just the start. We want to go and get promoted then see what we can do in the Lowland League next season.
“This feels like the first step, like it’s mission one complete. There’s another couple of missions we want to complete now but we’ll enjoy this moment and then get back down to work.
“It’s testament to the players. There was a lot of pressure on them this season but the squad is full of characters and full of good players.
“We came in at the end of August last season when the league was already probably a wee bit out of our reach so this was our main objective from day one - to win the league this year.
“Collectively as a group we never shied away from that and there is pressure with those expectations but a big well done to the players for going out there and doing it.”
Herd sampled plenty of success as a player for the Rose - including being an integral part of the side that won the East of Scotland Superleague a decade ago.
He admits this achievement means more, commenting: “It’s different. It means a wee bit more to be honest. The players have responded excellently to myself, John Millar, Eamon Fullerton and Paul Cairney.
“I’ve so much praise for the players because we can only set things up, they have to go out on the park and get the job done. They’ve been excellent from the moment we came to the club and they deserve this title.”
It’s a waiting game for the Rose now to see if they require a promotion play-off for a spot in next season’s Lowland League.
The winners of the East, South and West of Scotland usually play-off for the single promotion place, however this year’s West of Scotland winners - Beith Juniors - don’t hold an SFA licence needed for the fifth tier.
Meanwhile, with two games remaining in the South of Scotland, Abbey Vale and Creetown are on the same number of points with the latter being licensed.
That means the Rose would get automatically promoted should Abbey Vale - currently on top by goal difference - win the league while a two-legged play-off would be required if Creetown are champions.
Herd isn’t looking too far ahead but admits the club can’t ‘stand still’ regardless of what division they play in next season.
He said: “We’ve done well in single cup games against Lowland League teams but the real test will be can we do that over the course of a league season if we get there?
“We still may have to go through a play-off so it’s far from done yet but regardless it’s up to us as a club and a management team to not stand still.
“We want to kick on and improve. We can’t just expect that we’ll have a good season next year just because we did this year.”
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