Cove Rangers were the new kids on the SPFL block three years ago but are steadily becoming a household name.
Becoming a league side was a long-held goal for the Aberdeen side but they have gone beyond that now. Success will change perceptions.
They now have two league titles in the cabinet and are preparing to make their debut in the Championship. But Cove want to remain grounded and not lose sight of where they have come from, despite elevating themselves to new heights.
Being new promotes a desire to ‘prove ourselves’
“Do we feel like an established club? Some days we do,” said Cove chairman Keith Moorhouse. “I guess the answer is yes, we are.
“We are now heading into season four, albeit we are still one of the newest clubs in the SPFL. Until other clubs come along, we still will be new in the sense of being one of the last in.
“We won’t lose sight of that as it promotes a desire to prove ourselves and maintain our status. I don’t think it’s a bad thing that we still see ourselves in that light.
“We’re not a club that shouts from the rooftops, that’s never been our style. In my time here, it’ll never be our style. It’s about the club and the people; that’s the most important thing, because the people make the club.
“The people on the park make the team perform and management team give the team the plan to be successful. It’s the same off the park. We’ve got good people throughout our club that I’m delighted are part of it.
“You put all the pieces of the jigsaw together and you get what you’ve got. I don’t want that to sound blasé, but if you’ve got the right people and you treat them right, you normally end up reasonably successful.”
‘What do we need to do now, what does it look like on or off the park?’
Cove have been able to spend the last fortnight enjoying their success.
Victory over Dumbarton on April 23 crowned them League One champions after a nip-and-tuck battle with Airdrieonians. Any gauntlet the Diamonds laid down, Cove picked up and ran with it.
They set out with a five-year plan when they joined the SPFL in 2019, which set the goal of reaching the Championship within five years. Cove managed it within three.
Another blueprint for the next five years will be drawn up to plot the way ahead at the Balmoral Stadium, as they know can ill-afford to stand still.
“Whilst, over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had to celebrate that, it’s now back to business,” said Moorhouse. “What do we need to do now, what does it look like on or off the park?
“A lot of us have been working on that since we won the league. We’re not resting on our laurels and to be honest, a lot of the conversations started before we’d finished the league campaign.
“But you can only really start executing it once you know where you are. A lot of the guys who’d worked hard over the course of the season had a wee break; the management team are just back, the players are away.”
Cove happy to be ‘target’ due to rapid rise
What Cove have achieved is unprecedented in Scottish football. No club has come through the play-offs and reached the Championship in three years.
Their predecessors who stepped up from the Highland League either have not progressed as far or took longer to do it.
It took Caley Thistle five years to reach the old First Division and their neighbours Ross County did not get there until 2008, 14 years after joining the league.
Peterhead have floated between the third and fourth tiers, while Elgin have never progressed beyond the League Two play-offs.
“We’ll always be judged on our next game,” added Moorhouse. “We’ll be judged on how we perform next season. That’s fine, we’ve put ourselves out there for that to be the case.
“That’s the challenge in front of us and we’ll take it on. That’s what every team is judged on and we’re no different.
“In some respects, because we’ve become reasonably successful, we’ve become a target and we have to be mindful of that. We need to improve – we’re up for the challenge.”