New Kilwinning Rangers manager David Gormley is ready to put his faith in youth as he plots a summer overhaul at Buffs Park.
The 33-year-old was unveiled as Chris Strain’s successor on Monday, penning a two-year deal to kick-start a new era at the club.
Gormley will officially take up the role at the end of the season when he is due to step down as manager of Lowland League outfit Broomhill.
But this week he revealed his vision for Kilwinning - with the club’s youth system at the very heart of his rebuilding plans.
Gormley, who cut his managerial teeth at Rossvale in 2019 before moving to Broomhill last July, said: “There’s young boys at 17, 18 and 19 already at the club and a pathway for them to progress.
“It’s about trying to give boys first team opportunities and showing them what the man’s game is all about.
“It won’t be a case of shoving them in at the deep end. We’ll drip feed them in slowly. But we can make footballers out of them and by bringing them through, potentially make money for the club in the long run.
“That’s one side of it. The budget is also good and that’s something we’ll look to use.
“There are seven players already signed up for next season and five currently in talks.
“That potentially gives me 12 players as a base and I think we’ll look at bringing in another 10 players to give us a squad of 22 to begin with.
“We’ll need a big squad to cope with the demands of the season.”
Gormley, who will be joined at Kilwinning by his backroom team of coaches Davy Adams and Bill Reside, admits it’s a project that excites him, having been denied the opportunity to build something similar at Broomhill.
And he says the Buffs committee’s shared vision for the future made accepting the job a ‘no-brainer.’
“We had similar plans for Broomhill but unfortunately I was told in the middle of February that the club would be going under new ownership and I was basically surplus to requirements.
“It was disappointing but I’m big enough and ugly enough to know these things happen in football.
“For me, it was just a case of keeping an eye out for the right job and Kilwinning fitted the bill.
“I must admit that when I applied I did think to myself, ‘is the job too big for me?’
“But when I spoke to the club, what they had to say was music to my ears.
“There’s a project here I can really get my teeth into and I’m proper itching to get going.”
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