Billy Ogilvie says he has told Rutherglen Glencairn’s squad they are victims of reconstruction rather than relegation as the club held their first pre-season training session ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
Glens dropped out of the West of Scotland Premier Division at the end of last month after finishing in the bottom seven, despite accruing 52 points.
A change to the setup in the WOSFL means Glens are now in the second tier in the First Division and eager to get straight back to the top flight.
And as new coach Ogilvie met with the players for the first time since coming on the backroom team of boss Willie Harvey and assistant Joe Pryce, he revealed the players have been told they shouldn’t feel like failures for last season and challenged them to win promotion out of a tough division.
He said: “People say we’ve been relegated but it’s really it’s just league reconstruction and that’s what we’ve told the players.
“We had seven teams go down last season and Rutherglen went down with 52 points.
“I wouldn’t class that as relegation in any other season.
“There’s nothing you can do about league reconstruction and that’s what we’ve said to them.
“Put that to one side and try to get right back up there. But we know that is going to be really hard as there are some top teams in this league.
“Our league will be just as competitive, if not more, than the Premier League. There’s such a lot of strong teams in there. You are talking about Benburb, Drumchapel, St Cadoc’s - there’s some amount of talent and competitive clubs.
“St Cadoc’s signed Chris Erskine from East Kilbride. That’s a bit of a coup for them because he is such a brilliant player and that shows the kind of player they can bring in.”
The 61-year-old arrives at the Hamish B Allan Stadium having been co-assistant manager at Rossvale last season, while he previously worked with Glens, Arthurlie and East Kilbride.
He also led Lowland League East Kilbride to their famous Scottish Cup clash with Celtic in 2016 and he revealed this week was his first pre-season session since he was at K-Park.
“This is actually my first pre-season since East Kilbride in 2015/16 season because the other clubs I’ve joined I’ve been in around November or December, where I’ve been coming in to fix other people’s work, put Elastoplasts on things that are really bleeding,” he explained.
“Last year I went in at Rossvale just before the New Year, so it’s funny how it has worked out until now.
“It’s really nice to be in from the first block, if you like.
"It's been really enjoyable, we’ve been able to get our ideas down early. Players will become familiar with me as a coach and it’s always good to get that done on the first day of pre-season, rather than coming in halfway through a season.
“I’m just getting to know their names and things like that. It was a typical first day, getting the legs loose and all the rest of it.
“They are all getting familiar with each other now and, as first days go, it was very positive.
“I know the boys from playing against them with Rossvale last season and I know there’s a good squad here.
“I’ve known Willie and Joe for a long time, so it was really nice of them to ask me in because they’ve been working together for years.
“It’s great to be back and I’m looking forward to the season.”
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