Blog

Oct 22, 2024

Whitehills Football Club were close to folding after series of crushing defeats but new manager Craig Stewart inspires glorious first win, having said their was ‘absolutely no chance’ he would take the job

So close to going out of business after 12 straight defeats and 123 goals conceded, Whitehills were jubilant on Saturday after their first victory. The team that lost a Scottish Junior Cup tie 25-0

So close to going out of business after 12 straight defeats and 123 goals conceded, Whitehills were jubilant on Saturday after their first victory.

The team that lost a Scottish Junior Cup tie 25-0 and suffered five other double figures defeats got off the mark with a glorious 3-2 success over Cruden Bay in north junior football’s championship.

Their turnaround was inspired by the appointment of former Deveronvale boss Craig Stewart as their manager, backed by ex-Deveronside gaffer Ernie Milne in the assistant role.

Stewart recalls when he was first asked if he would take on the post at the Banffshire coastal club, he said there was “absolutely no chance” he would manage a team branded as the worst in the north.

“But I got wind that it was close to folding and it probably would have,” he said. “Nobody was stepping forward and I didn't want to see the club fold, so I decided to give it a go.

“If I didn't have someone alongside me like Ernie I don’t think I would have done it, but they were on the brink so we would give it a crack.

“Now we are in, it's a case of getting our teeth right into it.”

The pair agreed to oversee the club’s Scottish Cup clash with Dundee North End before officially taking over the managerial reins - and witnessed a horror show.

The Dundonians, bossed by former Aberdeen favourite Kevin McNaughton, mercilessly fired 25 goals past Whitehills in a result which was picked up over the length and breadth of the country.

It emphasised the scale of the job in front of Stewart and Milne but in a short space of time they have transformed ‘Hills from a laughing stock into a winning team.

Buoyed by a string of new recruits on Saturday, the new-look team raced into a 3-0 lead through goals by fresh faces Declan Mathieson, Ross Fiske and Liam Mcauslan.

Having not scored a single goal in 12 previous attempts this season, the Banffshire side was in dreamland - but the job wasn’t done there.

“At half time I went through the ways it could go, and when we lost a goal you do begin to wonder,” Stewart revealed.

“Our keeper got himself in a good position and came out to try and clear it but it bobbled over the foot to let their boy in. We lost our shape for 10-15 minutes around that time and they got a quick second so it was back to 3-2 and I could see it wasn’t happening for us.

“If they (Cruden Bay) had got a third I think they would have got a fourth. But we had a wee change in formation, a couple of subs and we got ourselves back in control of the game.”

Despite one or two scares, Whitehills stayed strong until the final whistle and there were some joyous scenes at School Park.

“As the boys went in they were clearly happy with the result and there was quite a big celebration, and rightly so,” Stewart said.

“You saw a bit of relief from the players and a lot of the people who help out at the club, the chairman and committee, they were all chuffed and it just gives the place a bit of a boost to get that victory.

“There’s a long way to go but to get off the mark with three points on the board was important because there was definitely a feel that we could go the whole season and not get a point.”

Previous boss Pat McPherson took on the job of trying to bring progress to a club which had dropped out of junior football before, and returned with the hope of forging forward.

Despite his enthusiasm in the position, ‘Hills kicked off with a 12-0 Grill League Cup loss to Dufftown and things didn’t get better over the coming months.

In their opening league match they suffered an 11-0 derby crushing to neighbours Deveronside.

That same scoreline was repeated against Banchory St Ternan, New Elgin and Burghead Thistle and worsened by a 13-0 drubbing at Hall Russell United.

With Stewart and Milne at the helm, a 5-0 loss to Nairn St Ninian showed some signs of progress two weeks ago, and Saturday’s battling performance finally broke the duck.

“The response since we came in has been great, with good turnouts at training and the commitment has been what we’ve been looking for,” Stewart added.

“There’s a much better feel about the place to what there was before. It’s a wee bit of a reward for the boys’ hard work.

“The effort they have put in has been first class so I can’t complain with that. We had a fair turnover in squad. Quite a few dropped out and that was always going to happen.

“There’s no point in saying otherwise, there was a lack of quality.

“The commitment levels was another thing, and between myself and Ernie we demand that and everything that goes with it.

“Before it was a case of bodies filling shirts but that certainly won’t be the way going forward. There needs to be a bit of quality in what we are doing and the players who are coming in will be better than the ones who are going out and are out.

“It’s a happier camp at the minute and we will keep building. It is still very early days but there is a wee bit of a buzz about the place and a lot of positivity and we just need to build on that.

“There will be defeats along the way and potentially some heavy ones, until we get our feet right under the table and do exactly what we want at the club and work on more things in training.”

Saturday’s penalty goalscorer Fiske was previously at Whitehills and Lossiemouth United, and starred for Buckie Rovers during the Moray welfare season helping the club to a clean sweep of the trophies.

Fellow scorer Mcauslan and Logan Poundall were previously at New Elgin juniors.

‘Hills have also recruited from the amateur and welfare ranks as well as bringing former players back to the club.

Veteran Kevin Sopel and attacker Kieran Ferguson, who has starred for Cullen in the welfare ranks, are two who will combine offshore shits with playing for ‘Hills.

Another Cullen welfare player stepping up is Calum Risk, and Saturday’s scorer Mathieson is joined by Aidan Macdougall and Nathan Steele in coming on board from Macduff FC.

Gary Stewart and Jack Duncan come in from the amateur ranks while Buckie-based Kyle Stewart is another fresh capture, taking the club to their full capacity of 23 signings.

It has painted a far brighter future for the club. “From what I was told it was very near the end,” Stewart said. “Results like the 25-0 told you where they were.

“We weren’t officially charge at that point but to be in the dugout and to see the level of performance and fitness - we knew it was a big job when we took it on but after that, we quickly realised it was bigger than we thought.

“Off the pitch things are fairly healthy but on the pitch it wasn't in a good place. What comes from that is that you continue to get heavy defeats, it becomes harder to sign players and that is what happened.

“It was close, that they might have just said enough was enough and that would have been a shame.

“Being local, I didn't want that to happen - as much as it was a fair take-on. Now that we are in, it’s one that I am up for the challenge for.

“I’m not one to come just to help the club keep going, I’m coming in to make the team better and there’s no question that in the space of three weeks that it is better - but we’ve got a long, long way to go to where we want to be.