East Kilbride returned for pre-season training without a goalkeeper, and securing a number one will be the top priority for manager Mick Kennedy this week. The League Two champions resumed training at K-Park last Thursday and held an open session for fans on Saturday afternoon.
New Signings on Display
Supporters got a first look at the 10 new signings, including Finlay Gray, Timam Scott, and Rhys Armstrong. However, Kennedy is still without a goalkeeper as the club awaits a decision on last season's loanee, Craig Hepburn, from Premiership side St Johnstone.
Kennedy told Lanarkshire Live Sport: “The most important thing right now is getting a goalkeeper in the building. We are looking to get Craig back, but a lot will depend on what St Johnstone do with their recruitment. We’ll need to wait and see, and off the back of that, we can get him back. That would be the ideal plan, but we need a plan B in place.”
Pre-Season Progress
Regarding the early training sessions, Kennedy said: “We were in on Thursday for a very light session, and Saturday was about looking at the shape and things. You can see the boys have good ability; it’s about getting used to the structure and process. There is a lot of work to be done, but we have signed many players with specific skills. I am confident we will get there because the early signs are good.”
Kennedy’s transfer business is far from finished, with 17 players leaving the club over the summer. He added: “When you see the number of players leaving, it is a massive turnover. We will need a small degree of patience. There are other areas to improve: we want a left-back, maybe another centre forward, and a wide man. There’s a lot of discussions ongoing, but the left-back is probably one of the main ones we want to push forward with soon.”
