Kincardineshire Club Work Up a Sweat

Report by Andy McLaren

Former Arbroath youngster Scott MacGregor today vowed to win a trophy following months of injury hell.

The Newtonhill skipper is back training following a career-threatening knee ligament injury in November.

Scott believes gaining promotion to Amateur football’s top tier for the first time in more than 40 years would be the ideal way to finish an injury-blighted campaign.

He said: “I was shocked when the injury happened and it has taken me a few months to get over the pain.

“I can’t wait to now help Newtonhill achieve their ultimate goal.

“I moved to the Amateurs because I was frustrated with the lack of match time at Junior level due to work commitments.

“Our squad is made up of guys I know from school and around the village.

“I have been extremely surprised with how competitive matches are.

“We need to overcome this sticky spell of not gaining promotion as we are always close every year.

“If we can keep everyone fit, then there is no reason why we can’t finally achieve this.”

The former Stonehaven Juniors defender has only had two training sessions since his serious injury.

Scott joined the Kincardineshire outfit last season and they currently have 25 players to choose from each week.

The talented defender was appointed captain after making an immediate impact in the first team.

The Stonehaven outfit sit fifth in Division One (East), seven points adrift of AC Mill Inn with five matches in hand.

Newtonhill have not won a piece of silverware since lifting the Barclay Cook Cup in 2004 and have been in Division One for the last seven years after gaining promotion from Division Two (North) in 2008.

Success in the area has increased in recent years, with teams such as AC Mill Inn, Cowie Thistle and Luthermuir all achieving silverware glory.

Scott previously played for Stonehaven Juniors for five years before moving to the reds. The 25-year-old admits fitness is the main difference between the two levels but he is delighted with Newtonhill’s new training regime.

“Newtonhill have great organisation at the club which is another reason why I joined,” he said.

“Football in the area is of an extremely high standard. I’m still surprised at how many teams there are within the Kincardineshire area.

“We have players who are more than capable of coping with the pressure of playing at the top level of Amateur football. I’m finding our training schedule quite tough but that is because of my injury.”