Keith manager Craig Ewen has set his sights on taking the Maroons into the top half of the Breedon Highland League after he and his backroom staff signed contract extensions.
Ewen, assistant Chris Craib and first team coach Rod McKinnon have committed their future to the club to the summer of 2026.
The Maroons finished last season in 15th place in the table and Ewen has set his sights on moving the club up the league.
He said: “It’s nice to have the club back us for a few more years and we’re delighted to keep working on the job of taking Keith forward.
“It hasn’t been an easy couple of years. We would like to have won more games and be pushing further up the table but it is an ongoing process.
“It’s a very competitive environment and the clubs in the top half of the league have good quality players.
“We’ve got three or four older guys in the team but the majority of our squad is in the 18-22 age bracket.
“Our hope is always to see if we can keep the players together.
“If they can improve as they mature then we will be in a better place but it’s not easy as players who do well for you attract attention from elsewhere.”
Player development key to Maroons making progress
We are delighted to announce that the Management team have agreed a contract extension keeping them at the club until the summer of 2026 pic.twitter.com/SIrUgASqpb
— Keith Football Club (@KeithFC) June 3, 2023
The Keith boss would love to be a in position to bring in experienced proven Highland League commodities to his squad but believes that is a significant challenge in competing with the financial muscle of the leading clubs in the division.
Ewen insists player development will be crucial to realising his goal at Kynoch Park.
He said: “There is no magic wand. We don’t have a big budget to bring in player X, Y and Z on big wages.
“We’ve got to work hard at developing what we have got to get into the top half of the league.
“There hasn’t been much movement so far in the league but it doesn’t surprise me.
“Clubs are clever at tying their key players down on longer deals.
“We’ve seen the odd player move to another club but the most any team has signed at this stage is three.
“As a result the market price for players is probably higher than it should be for everyone.
“When there are fewer players available it puts all the managers under more pressure, but that’s part and parcel of being a manager.”
Sargent commits future to Broch
Meanwhile, Fraserburgh attacker Ryan Sargent has committed his future to the club after signing a two-year extension.
The 22 year-old, who was part of the club’s league championship winning side of 2021-22, has scored 27 goals in 107 appearances for the Broch.
Sargent’s new deal extends his stay at Bellslea until the summer of 2026.
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