Shotts No.2 says signings will be identified as they step up pre-season

Shotts assistant boss Martin Devlin says their squad is shaping up well and they hope to announce new signings soon, as the club step up their pre-season.

The Bonny are gearing up for life in the West of Scotland Premier Division after last season’s promotion and travelled to local rivals Newmains last night [Wednesday]for their first friendly, before trips to Stoneyburn on Saturday and Wishaw on July 17, as well as home games with Lanark United on July 20 and Cowdenbeath on July 23.

Devlin said: “The squad is shaping up well and there will be some announcements soon once the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed, but we are happy with our business so far.

"We are clearly shopping in a different market to 95 per cent of the teams in our league, but we’ll embrace the challenge and are confident we can build a good, hungry, young squad who will be desperate to show how good they are in the top league.

“We are delighted to keep so many of last year’s squad as well as adding some really positive additions, especially in the forward areas.

“The friendlies are against teams who will always raise their games against any Premier League opposition, never mind a local rival, so the players need to be fully focused and ready to hit the ground running.”

Shotts suffered a huge blow this summer after captain Paul McGeough was forced to retire due to heart issues.

Devlin added: “The departure of Paul is really unfortunate. I’ve worked with some fantastic characters in my playing and coaching career but very, very few are irreplaceable – Paul, for me, falls into that category.”

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport onX via@LanLiveSport, like us onFacebookor find us onInstagramfor the latest sports news, pictures and video.