Broxburn Athletic will tackle Lowland League head-on as side not there to make up numbers, says boss

Broxburn Athletic boss Stevie Pittman insists his side won’t be in the Lowland League to make up the numbers and has set an ambitious target for their first campaign in the fifth tier.

The Brox cruised to the East of Scotland League title and then made light work of Dalbeattie Star in the Lowland League play-off final, winning 12-2 on aggregate.

As a newly-promoted side heading into the fifth tier late next month, Broxburn could be seen as one of the underdogs this season but boss Pittman insists the ambitious club won’t just be playing to avoid the drop straight back to where they came from.

He said: “I won’t be going into the Lowland League to avoid relegation, put it that way. I would be wasting my time. When you go into a league, everyone says they want to win it and I am realistic about what is in front of us.

“But I want us to be challenging in the top half of that league. If we are not, I don’t think I’ll be doing my job right. We need some new recruits and we will get them. The challenge ahead is one to really look forward to and I can’t wait for the new season to start.

“The Lowland League finished a few weeks ahead of us so those teams have had a wee head start on us in terms of resting up but we’ll be prepared for it as best we can.”

Pittman will make changes this summer and knows his side will need to strengthen to tackle the step up to the fifth tier, where they will face the likes of defending champions East Kilbride, former SPFL League Two sides Albion Rovers and Cowdenbeath, plus B teams from Celtic and Hearts.

He added: “There will be some tough decisions to make. I think we will need to bring a few players in and let some go.

“The whole team won’t be able to stick together but hopefully we can keep most