Manager Jimmy Quigley admits he might have to hide under his bed for a month when Renfrew’s incredible double celebrations are finally over.
The New Western Park side sealed the WoSFL Second Division title on Friday night with a 2-0 win against Glasgow University – sparking boozy celebrations that lasted until the early hours of Saturday morning.
Having already lifted the Demolition Cup back in December, the league title success ensures this has been one of the club’s best-ever seasons – if not the best ever.
The Renfrewshire club are set to be handed the league trophy at New Western Park this Saturday, after their final game of the historic campaign against Maybole.
And delighted boss Quigley is already fearing the hangover that is likely to ensue as the club’s staff and players raise another toast to a sensational season.
Quigley told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “It was a nervy first half against Glasgow Uni. We weren’t brave enough on the ball, but after the break Dom Innes scored a brilliant goal to put us ahead. Ciaran Diver set up Gregor Wylie for the second and that’s when we knew we’d definitely done enough.
“We were delighted to get it over the line. The celebrations started at full-time and they went on until about five in the morning!
“We’ll be getting the trophy on Saturday and hopefully we can finish on a strong point against Maybole.
“No doubt there’ll be more celebrations that evening as well. I’m probably going to need to hide under my bed for four weeks after that.
"There’s not been a double by the club in the last 50 or 60 years; especially given the size of the teams we had to beat to lift the Demolition Cup, we have got to enjoy this success. I couldn’t be more proud of the boys.”
It’s been a long, tough run for Renfrew to finally return to the second tier of the WoSFL set-up.
The impressive New Western Park outfit have been superbly consistent this season, losing just twice in the league and scoring the second most goals in the division.
The club have led from the front since August, which has seen them have a target on their back throughout the campaign.
Quigley was most impressed with the way his players dealt with that pressure to keep picking up wins that eventually got them over the line and sealed double glory.
He said: “The pressure was on us last year because we were the ones chasing everyone else and we had to keep picking up results.
“When you’re at the top it’s a different kind of pressure. Everyone wants to take you down but credit to the boys, we’ve only lost twice all season in the league.
“You can see looking at all the divisions that the standard is very good. We’ve drawn more games than we should, if we’d won a few more it would have been more comfortable.
“But this has made all the hard work worthwhile. It’s been a long slog to get back to where we believe we belong, due to Covid-19 and the league restructuring.
“We know the First Division next season is going to be a real step up. The teams coming down from the Premier Division are big names and I think it’s going to be the toughest division at our level over the next three or four years.”
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