October 5th 2026
Pre-season training is now well underway and the players have all been working really hard. We have been impressed with the effort they have put in so far and we want to continue that as we build towards the opening day of the season. I am really keen for fitness to be a cornerstone of our squad this season and we will be placing high demands on the players in regards to this.
To help the players reach the level of fitness we desire, we have just returned from a tough weekend training camp at Cromdale. It was great to get away for a night together as a squad to help with team bonding and the players all enjoyed it and will take a lot out of it in terms of the strength and fitness work that was carried out. I would like to thank the committee for supporting us with arranging the training camp – they went above and beyond to make sure the players were all provided with meals and everything else they required to take the most out of the trip. Kenny Macleod told me the other week that the last time the club went to Cromdale for pre-season was in 1975 and if it can help us to be nearly as successful as that squad was back then it will have been very worthwhile.
We had Millar Gamble with us at the camp and he is back in full training again after a serious hamstring injury in March, Jonathan Bain and Josh Stephenson are back with the squad after being out on loan to Fort William and Forres Thistle respectively and we were all delighted to have Kenny MacInnes on the trip. Even though he is not back training yet after surgery on his heels, it was great to have him as part of the group and he was able to carry out some of his rehab exercises while we were away.
Over the last few weeks we have made a number of additions to the Backroom Team. I was delighted when Brian Macleod confirmed that he would remain with the club and be a part of the setup – I see him playing a key role in the team. I was also delighted to bring Martin MacDonald and Mark Greig to the club. Both have different strengths and will add a great deal of value to the Coaching Staff. I am really pleased with the setup we now have although there may still be some additions before the season starts.
We have a couple of more pre-season games lined up. We play Culloden Blacksmiths at the Culloden Pitches on Saturday June 28th with a 1.00 pm kick-off, which will be a good game for us coming off the back of the home match against Inverness CT the Wednesday before. We then go to Lossiemouth United and Burghead Thistle as has already been confirmed before we welcome Nairn St Ninian to Station Park on Saturday July 12th for a 3.00 pm kick-off. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone from Nairn Saints to Station Park and I am sure it will be a friendly match with a competitive edge, as these games always are. We round off our preparations for the season with the home game against Arbroath Victoria on Saturday July 19th.
That leads us into the season opener away at Buckie Thistle and it is going to be a really tough opening few weeks for us. Buckie is a really difficult venue to go to and we do not have a great record there but we will be going all out to start to change that and ensure we make a positive start to the season, which I think is really important. We then welcome Deveronvale to Station Park on the Wednesday before hosting Clachnacuddin – these are games against two teams who had great seasons last year and will start this campaign on a high as a result of that, so it is going to be really difficult. It does not get any easier with away matches at Formartine United and Brora Rangers and a home midweek match against Huntly sandwiched in between, meaning that I will be up against former teammates in the dugout for five of our first six games. It is our job as a Management Team to not only have the players physically and tactically ready for the season as I have touched on but to also have them mentally prepared too – it is down to us to ensure the players have the belief in themselves that they can go out and win these games because that is what we will be looking to achieve every time we ask the players to go out on matchday. It is not going to be easy but we have to make sure the players are ready to run those extra yards and suffer deep into games and at the same time, instilling in them the desire they need to beat teams who finished higher up the league last season and to grind out results on the days when we are not having it all our own way.
We were pleased to recently extend the contracts of some important players with Andrew Greig, Dylan Maclean and Ben Kelly all putting pen to paper on new deals. Chubbs and Dylan won Player of the Year prizes at the club last season, which speaks for itself in terms of how they performed last season and we are looking for a similar return from them going into the new campaign. I am delighted to keep two experienced members of the squad at the club, they have been around the league a long time between them and Chubbs has done it all throughout his career too. They are going to be important players for us again next season. Meanwhile, Ben is now going into his third season and there is an opportunity there with players moving on for him to secure a regular starting spot in the team. He has maybe been a bit unfortunate to be in and out of the team over the last few seasons but he gives it his all when called upon and he is the sort of player we feel as a Management Team we can develop and improve because of his positive attitude and the raw attributes he possesses.
We also brought Calum Mackay back to the club which was fantastic news. He was away training with Elgin City towards the end of the season as he weighed up his options and had a couple of clubs in for him, so we were delighted that he chose to come to us. We have seen in the two short-term spells Calum has had at the club already that he has talent and now he has the security behind him of a two-year deal, I have no doubt that we will consistently see him at his very best in a Nairn County shirt over the next couple of seasons.
There has been a few departures from the squad to update you on. As was announced, Scott Lisle is moving to Australia next month. We were all sorry to see Scott go but understand his motives and certainly cannot begrudge him wanting a fresh start somewhere else and to sample a completely new lifestyle. We all wish him well and hope that everything works out for him. Ciaran Young has joined Nairn St Ninian in a permanent deal after being on loan there at the end of last season, young defender John Fowler has been released following the conclusion of his loan spell at Forres Thistle at the end of the season while Alan Pollock, Gary Kerr and Roddy Kennedy are all currently injured and not due back for a wee while yet – I have been in contact with all three players and we will see what transpires once we have a better idea of a timescale for their return to fitness.
Finally, I was delighted to promote Ross Murphy, Chevy Thomson and Charlie McKenzie into the First Team squad on a permanent basis. All have been in and around the squad recently and have been progressing really well. They have to now continue in that vein as they seek to establish themselves in the First Team, which is the toughest step of them all. They have all shown a great attitude and have worked really hard to get where they are now, so well done to them but it is only going to get harder. We also had Kyle Jeffrey and Hugh Cruickshank from our Under-18s squad at the first day of our training camp at the weekend, which was great for them and was pleasing for us to be able to hand an opportunity to some young players to have a taste of the First Team environment.
Thanks to everyone for their support so far and I look forward to seeing you all at the Fans Forum at the end of the month.
WAYNE MACKINTOSH
Manager
Nairn County Football Club.
