Kennoway Star Hearts boss Johnstone hopes bonding night can yield results

Craig Johnstone in action for Kennoway Star Hearts

KSH had a free week last weekend because of the East Region Cup and Johnstone used it to bring the players closer together with a barbecue and karaoke at the club last Saturday.

It has not been a great start with four defeats from four games, but Johnstone believes bonding sessions will help to boost morale and unite the squad.

Speaking before the visit of Whitburn on Saturday, Johnstone told the Gazette: “I think these bonding sessions are very important and can help get you that wee bit extra out of the players on the park.

“We all need to be pulling in the same direction, if a team isn’t interested in spending time together off the park then that will not help on it.

“It was a decent day, we watched the scores coming through, we had training in the afternoon and then a barbecue at night with a couple of drinks.

“The boys sang a few initiation songs – they certainly won’t be going on the X-Factor anytime soon.”

Defeats to Thornton Hibs, Lochee United, Carnoustie Panmure and Tayport have left Kennoway bottom of the East Superleague and having to play catch up.

However, Johnstone stressed they are playing better than their results would suggest.

He said: “It’s frustrating, we have played quite well but we have just not been taking our chances.

“And we have been in front in games and then we are just not seeing them out.

“We’ve got to keep doing the right thing and our luck might change.

“If it all comes together then the opposition might be on the wrong end of a big defeat. It’s just getting that first win – it might take a scrappy goal, a deflection or to go in off someone’s back side.

“We’re a really young side, with 17 and 18-year-olds.

“The plan is to keep these boys together for a couple of years and focus on trying to stay in the league, but I’m not too dispirited with how we have started.

“We want to finish as high as we can, we have only been a junior club for six years and we are still learning and I include myself in that.”

Second bottom Whitburn are also winless after their first four games, the 33-year-old added: “I haven’t seen much of them.

“They beat us 5-1 in the Cup a couple of seasons ago, we beat them twice in the league. They are a big junior club, and will be a stuffy, hard-to-beat team.”