Midfielder Kenny MacInnes has set his sights on nailing down a starting spot in the Elgin City side – after flourishing during a loan spell away from Borough Briggs last term.
With Ross Draper coming as the League Two club’s new manager this summer, former Caley Thistle youth ace MacInnes is determined to impress on and off the park.
Of the 14 appearances he made for Elgin last term under previous boss Gavin Price, only one was from the start.
In January, he sealed a loan switch to Highland League side Nairn County and earned plenty of game-time and plaudits for his performances in Steven Mackay’s side.
Nairn experience was great help
On Saturday, he played 90 minutes for Elgin in a 4-1 friendly defeat against his old club Inverness, and feels his temporary stint at Nairn has helped him.
He said: “Last season was tough for me as I couldn’t really get a chance in the team.
“However, I had a good loan spell at the end of the season. It was really good for me to be playing regularly. I started near enough every game and got a lot of minutes.
“The plan for me is to break into the team and I’ve enjoyed pre-season.
“I’m still only 19, so it’s all about building up my experience of men’s football.
“I’m really enjoying it since Ross has come in as the manager. The training has been really enjoyable.
“Ross and his staff are trying to get us to play a nice brand of football. We’re looking forward to getting into the competitive games now.”
MacInnes is confident he has qualities which can boost the Elgin team.
He added: “I work really hard and I think people would have seen on Saturday that I cover a fair amount of ground.
“I try to be good on the ball, and on Saturday I felt I did well, especially given the amount of defending we were doing.”
ICT test ideal ahead of ‘Well clash
Elgin were missing key men in their friendly loss to Inverness, such as captain Matthew Cooper, Russell Dingwall and Jake Dolzanski.
They could only name three subs, including goalkeeper Thomas McHale, in contrast to ICT, who switched their 11 at the break.
MacInnes relished the challenge, though, and is sure Elgin will benefit from it as they kick off their Viaplay Cup group stage matches at home to Stuart Kettlewell’s Premiership Motherwell on Saturday.
He added: “It was a tough test against a good side, especially in those (hot) conditions. It was always going to be really hard on that big pitch.
“But I thought it will be useful for us to have had that game going into Saturday’s match against a good Motherwell team. It was good to get minutes in the legs.
“We’re looking forward to Saturday. I’m sure Motherwell will bring up a good crowd and it’s good for us to get back to Borough Briggs.
“Hopefully, we will put in a strong performance to kick our season off.”
SPFL Trust Trophy 🏆
We will face St Johnstone B at Borough Briggs on 1st August @spfl @StJohnstone pic.twitter.com/hnFchyfOEd
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) July 4, 2023
‘We won’t get too ahead of ourselves’
After finishing ninth in League Two in the past two seasons, Elgin are desperate to be in the top-four this time.
MacInnes, however, said their first focus will be giving a good account of themselves in the League Cup.
He said: “The ambition this season is to be in the promotion push, but we don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves.
“We have the Viaplay Cup first, and then when the league starts next month, we will approach it one game at a time and see where we go from there.”