East Stirlingshire equipped to mount a title challenge - Derek Ure

The Shire most recently added Mark Millar to the plethora of established Scottish league names they’ve recruited to The Falkirk Stadium, joining the likes of Bobby Barr, Matty Flynn, Peter MacDonald and Eddie Malone.

And, with pre-season training in full swing and fixtures kicking off in 48 hours, Shire boss Ure reckons the club is more than ready to take on the Lowland League.

He told The Falkirk Herald: “If we were to start competitive games tomorrow I wouldn’t be unhappy with where we are in terms of recruitment.

“I’ve been involved in a lot worse!

“We are very pleased with the work that has been done so far.”

He reiterated that again they are just about finished but would make allowances for a special player if one became available – but Millar fit that mould.

Ure added: “Mark is well known, has a good pedigree and knows Falkirk Stadium having been here twice with Falkirk. We know what we can get from him and are delighted he decided to join us.

“Andy Rodgers knows him well so we are delighted to get that deal over the line.”

Shire’s pre-season kicks off in West Lothian this weekend with a trip to Blackburn after two weeks of preparations. They’ll carry the games on through to the start of the campaign proper and Ure added: “The balls were out on the pitch and everyone has been enjoying it and working hard.

“We do have a few away on holiday and others still to go. That will be the case over the next few weeks too but we know what to expect and can work around it.

“We certainly have a lot of quality in the squad now and we’re looking forward to things.

“You can’t win these leagues with just young boys and I think we have a great mix in the squad.”