Lowland League East: Bo'ness United boss Stuart Hunter aiming for higher finish
Stuart Hunter wants his Bo’ness United side to be challenging at the top-end of the new Lowland League East.
The Newtown Park club finished in ninth last season after a frustrating campaign that eventually petered out.
And club icon Hunter is clear that finishing way higher is the goal, and that he is bringing in a squad that can handle the demands of the fifth tier.
"The aim is to finish way higher,” he said. “That’s a given. I’m in football to finish middle of the pack. I want to be challenging. Last season, we had a game against Berwick that would have seen us go third if we won. Instead we didn’t and found ourselves drifting away pretty quickly.
"We struggled against the teams below us in the league. And that hurts. It is not a given but if you add up the points it puts you a lot closer to Lithgae at the top.
"The overall feeling was massive disappointment because we also didn’t do well enough in the cups. You could maybe accept mid-table if you did really, really well in at least a couple of cups.
"We simply didn’t fulfil our potential. We had a good run-in after Christmas and didn’t make anything of it. We had so many ‘we should have won that’ games.”
The boss added: “We have to make changes. We need players with that professional pride to go each weekend and get through a slog. Because this league has some tough trips. Hill of Beath to Brechin, there’s some hard venues and top teams in the East. You have to go and battle and play on grass pitches.
"Recruitment-wise, we have some players already signed up for next season. We also do have some of last season’s squad signed up. I can’t shy away from the failure of last season so we need to change things up.
"A good example for me was what Sandy (Clark) did last season at Albion Rovers. It isn’t always about money. It is about getting right people and putting together a group that work for each other. A competitive team can be built on a small budget.
"A lot of clubs are throwing money at good players, or even average players. You don’t get every signing right and some are gambles, looking for a diamond, but I think we will get the right mix.”