St Andrews United boss sets his sights high for new season

King believes he has the nucleus of a squad capable of competing with any side in the league.

He’s still looking to add a few bodies to provide some strength and options, but reckons there’s plenty to look forward to for the town club.

Saints begin their campaign away from home at Ormiston on Saturday and King is setting the bar high for his players.

"Promotion is the ambition, there’s no point in being involved in football if you’re not aiming that high,” said the Saints boss.

"The 11 or 12 bodies we have at the moment are good enough, but that won’t get us through the whole of the season.

"We’re looking to strengthen still but we want to win it, there’s no doubt about that.”

Saints suffered a 4-0 loss to Tayport on Saturday in a pre-season game, having beaten Coupar Angus just a few days before.

United haven’t played a competitive game since the turn of the year after last season was halted due to rising Covid-19 levels.

It means that knowing what to expect of Saturday’s opposition is tough given there is no form to go on.

King, though, knows that, traditionally, the East Lothian side are a tough nut to crack so says his team must be at its best to return to the kingdom with all three points.

"All we can go on really is how they’ve been when we’ve come up against them over the last couple of years,” he added.

"It’s always fairly tight with a couple of draws and a couple of wins.

"We know it’ll be tough but, from what I remember, it’s a decent park down there so that should allow us to do what we’re good at, keeping the ball and creating chances.

"Hopefully it all falls into place and we’ll come away with a win.”

Newburgh are also kicking off their EoSFL season this week but will sit out the first round of fixtures on Saturday.

An odd number of teams in Newburgh’s conference means that one team will enjoy a free weekend each Saturday.

The East Shore Park club have to wait until Tuesday, July 20 to open their campaign with a trip to face Heriot Watt University.