August 30th 2026
As Chairman of the club, I want to improve communication between the Management Committee and the supporters so that everyone can be made aware of what is going on at the club and you can be kept up-to-date with everything you need to know, so I will aim to provide you with a Chairman’s Statement whenever necessary and through other forms of communication too, which we are looking into.
I am delighted to have been named as the club’s new Chairman. I have been involved with the club for a very long time now, going back over 27 years and I felt the time was right to commit to this new role. Mark Kelman felt that he was unable to continue going forward into the new season and after having a few conversations, I decided to put myself forward to succeed him. I am delighted that proposal was met with the full approval of the Management Committee earlier this week.
I know I cannot do it all on my own though and the number one priority for me has been to build a strong Management Committee around about me. Towards the end of the season, we were really down to the bare bones as a committee and it had become a real struggle to ensure everything was covered on matchdays and that the club was able to function. I could sense that the remaining committee members had become demoralised and were spread far too thinly trying to cover a multitude of different tasks on matchdays and in the day-to-day running of the club through the week. To that end, I am delighted to announce the appointment of five new Management Committee members to help us drive the club forward – Michael Bochel and Derek Steel return having stepped back from being on the committee earlier in the season while Allan Scott, Shaun Smith and Gordy Stewart also join us as new members (albeit Shaun returning after a five-year absence). All of these guys have a great affinity with Nairn County, hold the club close to their hearts and I know they will add substantial value to the committee. I would like to welcome them all onboard and thank them for agreeing to join us – I am really looking forward to working with them all over the coming months and years.
We have also started work on how the club is going to be structured moving forward. All five of the new appointments have already started working on the areas of the club they are going to be responsible for and I am also absolutely delighted to confirm that Brodie Stewart has accepted the position of Vice Chairman. Ken Loades, who was Vice Chairman previously, intimated earlier in the season that he would be stepping down from the post but after discussions with Ken I am delighted that he will remain an important part of the Management Committee. I am looking forward to working closely with Brodie, who has done amazing work for the club as our Mental Health Liaison Officer over the last few seasons and is probably among the youngest people to hold an Executive role at any club in the Highland League. He will bring a great deal to this position, which will be a fantastic support to me as Chairman.
This is just a starting point though and there are still a lot more positions to be filled and support required to ensure the successful running of the club throughout the 2025/26 season and beyond. If you have the club’s best interests at heart and wish to help us out in any capacity, please do not hesitate to contact me – you can email the club at info@nairncountyfc.co.uk or message us on our Social Media channels and I will pick it up.
Obviously, the burning issue for all the supporters is the Manager’s position. Although there is no update I can give you right now having only just taken on the Chairman’s role, it is, of course, going to be at the forefront of our priorities this Bank Holiday weekend and going into next week. I am aware of the importance of having this resolved as soon as we can to allow the new Manager, whoever that might be, as much time as we can give them to prepare for the start of pre-season training, which is due to commence in only 7-8 weeks time.
I will look to hold a face-to-face Fans Forum for supporters in the next couple of months once things settle down and vacant positions at the club have been filled. It is something I am looking forward to and I feel is important to allow a two-way channel of communication with supporters. But if you have something you’d like to ask or a suggestion which cannot wait until then, please feel free to drop me an email at the address above or message the club’s Social Media pages.
I would like to conclude by placing on record my thanks to you all for your support of the club over the last season. It has been a really difficult season and it was a disappointing one overall but despite that, it was always encouraging to see so many fans giving their backing to the team, even at faraway venues such as Wick – in the most miserable weather – and Brechin over the last few weeks towards the end of the campaign. We are going to need all of that support again and more in 2025/26 and I would like to ask you to get behind the new Management Committee and First Team Manager with positivity once all appointments are made.
KEVIN H. REID
Chairman
Nairn County Football Club
