SHINTY - ‘Big shoes to fill’ as Kinlochshiel confirm manager exit
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Kinlochshiel know that whoever replaces outgoing manager Johnston Gill will have big shoes to fill.
Gill has overseen an unprecedented era of success in Balmacara, winning all four of shinty’s senior trophies since returning to the hot seat in 2017.
It has been a remarkable record for a club who had only just won their first piece of senior silverware the year beforehand.
However, as the adage goes, all good things must come to an end.
It has been confirmed that Gill will be retiring after ‘Shiel’s 2022 comes to a close this weekend, and it will not be an easy task to replace the man who has led the club to such success.
“He indicated earlier on in the season that he would be stepping down, because he was leaving the area to live in Inverness,” Kinlochshiel’s senior shinty director Duncan Macleod said.
“It was planned, but we’re still very sad to see him go.
“He had a great five years. It was 2017 he took over again, and from that time onwards we won everything.
“He won every cup that was available to us following on from the 2016 success when we won our first senior trophy – the Macaulay Cup.
“In 2017 we won the Premiership, and 2018 we won the Macaulay again, and then in 2021 we won the MacTavish Cup and the Camanachd Cup.
“Whoever comes in has big shoes to fill.”
Macleod worked closely with Gill on off-field issues, so knows first hand the job ‘Shiel’s outgoing boss had on his hands.
While the club as a whole were on the rise five years ago, then, there is no doubting the role that Gill played over recent seasons.
“Following on from the 2016 success, you could see that there was more in the team,” Macleod added.
“There was a high possibility that we could win more cups because the team was just reaching its peak, but Johnston played a big role in that too.
“He looked after the team, and he was a very easy person to work with.
“He had a good team around him as well, but the players responded to him very well.
“He was very dedicated, and the manager’s job is a hell of an undertaking. We train on Mondays and Wednesdays, and obviously there are games on Saturdays, plus all the bits in between. Johnston did really well with everything he did in that time.”
