East Stirlingshire skipper Derek Ure urged his team mates to "do better" after admitting the team's performance in crashing out of the IRN-BRU Cup at the hands of Montrose at Ochilview on Tuesday evening was "ultimately not good enough".
Following two rousing displays against Premiership Rangers and Motherwell in the League Cup, hopes had been high Shire could give League 2 Annan Athletic (League Cup) and Montrose (Challenge Cup) a fright. But, in each match, they fell way short of what was required. Admittedly Shire were not helped by the bizarre dismissal of defensive lynchpin Scot Buist whose continued verbal outburst at referee Craig Napier almost encouraged the whistler to show him a red card. Shire need more than a few good men this season if they hope to escape from relative obscurity.
Ure said: "If we hope to come back into the SPFL we should be giving teams like Montrose a better game but we were sluggish at times, maybe we've been spoiled by recent games against Rangers and Motherwell in the League Cup, because we didn't show up for large parts of the Montrose game. The boys have to realise it's the likes of Montrose and Annan we have to compete with regularly and not just save it all up for the big games."
Shire are in the Challenge Cup and League Cup as part of their parachute payment for falling out of the SPFL last season as the team beaten in the end of season pyramid play off (Edinburgh City replacing Shire in League 2 with the former Falkirk based side taking City's place in the Lowland League).
Shire are coached by John Sludden now and they start life in the fifth tier on Saturday 6th August with a home game at Ochilview against borderers Vale of Leithen before hosting their new derby against Stirling University on Wednesday 10th August.
The aim for the former whipping boys of the SPFL is to bounce straight back up into League 2 but it won't be easy with Stirling Uni (managed by top woman coach Shelley Kerr), Gretna 2008 (reborn from the ashes of the old Scottish Premier League side Gretna) and improving Cumbernauld Colts (ground-sharing at Broadwood with Clyde FC) teams to look out for this season, as well as Spartans, who have already served notice they could compete in the SPFL with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Berwick Rangers at Shielfield in the Irn Bru Challenge Cup. Could that be a play off final rehearsal for May 2017?
Former East of Scotland League sides Hawick Royal Albert and Civil Service Strollers are also new to the Lowland League this campaign as 'expansion' teams.
It maybe served notice how quickly you can be forgotten when you slip out of the SPFL when a BBC website recently listed East Stirlingshire as ES Clydebank when displaying this season's Lowland League clubs (Shire merged with the then-Junior side Clydebank for one season in the mid 1960's before legally winning the right to return to the Scottish League as East Stirlingshire from merger architects the Steedman Brothers). Calendars across the Central Belt were checked but it wasn't April Fool's Day and if it was someone at the Beeb who thought they had a sense of humour the small band of Shire fans who will keep the faith in the Lowland League this season didn't see the funny side as social media bristled with expletives deleted!
The Black and White hoops which first appeared when Shire were formed as Bainsford Britannia in 1881 are back in league action from this weekend, a bit thicker than the original ones, but historic nevertheless, especially if the Shire squad of 2016/17 can become the first former SPFL side to retain their League 2 place after being the first SPFL side to lose it in 2015/16.
The opening Saturday Lowland League fixtures (6 Aug 2016)
Dalbeattie Star v Cumbernauld Colts
East Kilbride v Selkirk
East Stirlingshire v Vale of Leithen
Gala Fairydean Rovers v University of Stirling
Grenta 2008 v Civil Service Strollers
Hawick Royal Albert v Whitehill Welfare
Preston Athletic v BSC Glasgow
Spartans v Edinburgh University