North Caley clubs' day-to-day effort is paying off with heightened competition, says league president Iain Whitehead
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The North Caledonian League is as competitive as it has ever been, according to NCL president Iain Whitehead.
Last season’s title race went down to the last couple of matches of the campaign as Invergordon, Loch Ness and Halkirk United chased the North Caley crown.
There was also a battle at the bottom of the standings though, with every team in the division winning at least three matches.
That, believes Whitehead, is a key difference in the competition now compared to years gone by.
He says clubs across the board are taking a more professional approach, which in turn is leading to better competition.
“Teams are very competitive now, and I think we saw that last season,” Whitehead reasoned.
“There wasn’t that team at the bottom of the league with no wins, so it’s better.
“I think what has happened is that people are more invested in it. Teams at the bottom are training every week, so they’re improving their squad of players.
“Things like that make a difference. Before it was just the two or three teams at the top, and the other teams were just turning up on a Saturday.
“At our level, you get found out doing that.
“Everyone is invested in the teams we have right now, and they are training every week, so it has improved the standard – more at the bottom end I’d say.
“Everybody’s capable of taking points off one another now, which makes for a competitive league, and that can only be a good thing.”
Things may be about to get even more competitive next season as the league looks set to expand.
Although nothing has been ratified as yet, Clachnacuddin have already signalled their intention to enter a reserve team, and it looks likely that Fort William will return to the North Caley ranks after relegation from the Highland League.
“We haven’t got any more clarity on that one yet – we’ll just be having a meeting in the next couple of weeks, whenever we decide on a date,” Whitehead explained.
“We’ll be inviting Fort William to that. We’ll hopefully know what their situation is then, but I haven’t heard anything more than the play-offs aren’t being held – the same as everybody else.
“As far as we’re aware Clach are still keen to enter too. Our plan is to have that upcoming meeting in May, and then have our AGM in June when we usually have it.”
