Shotts boss John McKeown says his side deserved a draw against West of Scotland First Division ‘favourites’ St Cadoc’s, and it showed his side aren’t “a million miles away”.
The Glasgow side ran out 1-0 in their opener on Saturday against McKeown’s patchwork side, but he says there were plenty of positives to take from the game.
McKeown will be looking to add quality wherever possible, but says the effort and commitment was there.
He said: “I knew we were going to be up against it. They’re most people’s league favourites, and the signings they’ve made have been incredible.
“We’ve mostly added young kids who are really inexperienced at this level, but we gave a right good account of ourselves.
“My take from it was that we were very, very unfortunate not to take something from the game.
“I’m not saying we should have won the game, but I think it would have been justice if we could have got ourselves a point.
“We’re not a million miles away but we still need to add a few bits of quality and experience, maybe in the forward areas.
“But we were unlucky.”
McKeown added: “I think this league is going to be really hard, and there will be a lot of bumps in the road this season.
“We just need to try and add wee bits of quality and experience as we go, on a very restricted, tight budget, compared to a lot of teams in the league, which is going to be quite difficult.
“But that’s just the way it is. We can’t keep moaning about it, we just need to get on with it.
“To be fair, the boys on Saturday gave their all, so I was quite happy with the effort and commitment, but we didn’t have that final cutting edge when we got into the final third.”
Shotts follow up their Hannah Park curtain-raiser with a trip to Rossvale, and McKeown knows it will be another tough game – but says that’s the nature of a hugely competitive division.
He said: “Rossvale will be tough, they were unlucky on Saturday to lose out 3-2 to Benburb, so they’ll be looking to get off the mark, and it will be another ‘cup final’, as they say.
“Every game is going to be like that this season, but if we give the same effort and commitment as we did on Saturday we’ll not be a million miles away.
“I think if a team can put a run together of four or five wins in a row you’re going to be right up there, and if you lose four or five you’re going to be in trouble.
“That’s just the way it looks early on, anyway. Things can change over the course of a season, but we just need to try and be happy with ourselves.
“I know the squad isn’t where I want it to be just yet, but Saturday showed me that we’re getting a wee bit closer.”
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