Football Season Guide

Berwick Rangers go into the new campaign with a mixture of hope and frustration. The Wee Gers finished last season in fine form and didn’t want it to end having enjoyed a renaissance under manager John Coughlin. Player-manager Colin Cameron had never really got to grips with the job at Shielfield Park and having finished in 8th place in 2014/15, they were sliding towards an even worse finish last season and Cameron was sacked on Hallowe’en. There was more pain to come for the Wee Gers before the nightmare was over with Coughlin also finding the going tough and rock-bottom just before Christmas. He found the answers with a switch to a 3-5-2 formation paying dividends and they slowly climbed up the table before finishing with something of a flourish with just one defeat in eleven league matches. Had the season ended a fortnight later they might even have reached the play-offs but will have to settle for a 6th place finish. Sadly the Borderers were dealt a significant blow before the end of May when striker Blair Henderson and leading goalscorer, rejected the offer a new deal to sign for rivals Stirling Albion instead. The news got worse with influential midfielder Finn Graham joining League One side Brechin City and full-back Ewan McNeil opting to sign for Clyde. Coughlin has handed the unenviable task of replacing Henderson’s 17 goals to striker Jordyn Sheerin, who has signed from Livingston. The defensive duo of Kevin McKinlay and Lee Hamilton have joined from Stirling Albion whilst influential midfielder Steven Notman has signed a new two-year deal. Finn Graham’s delivery from set-pieces has yet to be replaced and expectations on the mouth of the Tweed will be lower than they might otherwise have been if Coughlin had kept the squad which had finished last season so impressively.