5 hours ago
John Gordon and Son are the new sponsors of the Nairn County under-20s. The deal runs until the end of next season and will see the John Gordon and Son logo emblazoned on the front of the under-20s kit. It is a move that further strengthens the club's association with its near-neighbours, with whom there is already a strong connection and fruitful working relationship. Ronald M. Gordon, co-Managing Director of John Gordon and Son, said: "John Gordon and Son are delighted to continue their long association with Nairn County and welcome the chance to be directly involved with their successful under-20s team through this shirt sponsorship arrangement." "We realise the importance of the under-20s team to the club's overall strategy of developing its own players for use in the first team and we look forward seeing the young players currently in the team grow into the first team players of tomorrow. "We would like to wish the coaches, Stuart Finnie and Brian Taylor and all of the players the best of luck for the rest of the season and for the future." Nairn County Director of Football, Graeme Macleod said: "It is great news for the club that we have managed to attract one of the most recognisable brands in town to sponsor our under-20s squad." "We view having an under-20s squad as crucial to our plans to improve the first team. We want to see as many players as possible come through the ranks but they have to be good enough and they have to show the right attitude." "We deliberately run with a tight squad at under-20s level, so we have the players with the most potential as well as room for first team players to get some vital game time when needed and to push on our under-17s players who are excelling. In fact, our head coach, Stuart Finnie has permanently moved up five players from our under-17s squad recently for the attitude and performances they have shown in training and games with the under-20s squad and they have all taken to it really well. There will be the chance for others to make the same move if they show the same traits." He added: "We treat under-20s matchdays the same as we do the first team and have played all home games at Station Park this season, which has been a great success. It gives the players the chance to experience how things are on matchdays for the first team, so they can seamlessly make the step up and it also gives the under-17s something to aspire to. The manager (Ronnie Sharp) also keeps a close eye on how the under-20s are progressing and we have had a great number of first team debutants from that level this season." "It is obviously not cheap to run an under-20s team but it is most definitely worthwhile and we are absolutely delighted that John Gordon and Son have shown their endorsement of what we are trying to do by agreeing to come on board." Under-20s head coach, Stuart Finnie said: "I would like to thank John Gordon and Son for this sponsorship and I would especially like to thank Stevie Bain for all of his hard work in arranging the deal." "It was great to chat with the Gordons at the Testimonial Match yesterday. It is clear that they are football people and it is their sponsorship that will be funding the under-20s team going forward. I can assure them that I will be doing all I can to repay them with success." The Nairn County under-20s compete in the North of Scotland League, playing their fixtures on Monday evenings. They currently sit second in the table with two games remaining this season, both away from home against Forres Mechanics. The team also competed in the Jock Mackay Cup for the first time this season, narrowly losing out away at Thurso. Keep an eye on the official Nairn County website and social media channels for news on proposed end-of-season friendlies for the under-20s squad over the coming weeks. Graeme Macleod
