At first glance, New Central Park may not look like it is ready to welcome increased crowds from the likes of Dunfermline and Falkirk.
In all corners of the Kelty Hearts ground, work is ongoing to redevelop the space into a venue fit for their maiden season in League One.
Terracing is being installed behind each goal, with segregation set to be introduced for the bigger matches, most notably when the Pars arrive on Christmas Eve.
Meanwhile, facilities are being expanded and hospitality capacity increased.
There are also plans to extend the seated stand later in the season.
On top of this, there is a supporters’ wall being erected at the Bath Street entrance, funded by more than £10,000 raised by supporters through their ‘Buy a Brick’ campaign.
“We don’t give ourselves much time here,” managing director Andy Barrowman tells Courier Sport with a smile. “We like to try and squeeze things in. There’s lots of hard work going in and we’re now starting to see the benefit of that.”
Barrowman is speaking on a sunny, wind-swept day in Fife’s old mining heartlands as the club throws open its doors to the public.
There is a buzz in the air in anticipation of the new season as kids line up to take penalties into goalkeeper Darren Jamieson and later Joe Cardle, who chooses to save shots with his heels, hands behind his back.
That’s before they all join in for a kick-about, all the while the older attendees mill about in the stands and catch up with familiar faces.
After that there is a training session which those in attendance are welcome to watch.
“That’s what we are, we’re a community club,” continues Barrowman.
“It’s a small village but I think everyone in the village is a Kelty Hearts fan, they all get behind it.
“It’s a real strong-point of the club, so we actively want to promote it. We want kids to be able to come up and watch the players train and learn from them.”
All of this has been allowed to return after two years of disruption during the coronavirus pandemic, when red zones and distancing dominated.
Bringing in ‘new faces’
More recently there was disruption to the management team when Kevin Thomson left the club.
He led the Maroon Machine through a spectacular League Two campaign — totalling 81 points and slaying Premiership outfit St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup for good measure.
Since then John Potter has been brought in to fill the void after spending years as assistant to new Dundee United boss Jack Ross at Hibs and Sunderland.
He was then part of the management team that last season saw Queen’s Park promoted to the Championship, relegating his old club Dunfermline along the way.
“There’s obviously been a bit of uncertainty in the summer, in terms of the manager. But for the last two weeks, since John has been in place, it’s full steam ahead,” Barrowman adds.
“There’s lots of work going on in the background. Hopefully in the next week we should see some of those things will come to fruition and we’ll have some new faces in the door.
“As you can see there is lots of work being done off the pitch as well, that’s progressing well.
“You just want to get that done and get ready for a big season ahead.”
So far Brodie Strang is the only player to be added this summer, with former Raith Rovers keeper David McGurn joining as goalkeeping coach.
‘I was instantly hooked — better than watching big games on television’
Kelty will play Partick Thistle, Glenrothes and Raith Rovers in friendly matches before the Premier Sports Cup ground stage kicks off on July 9th.
To start the league season they will hoist the League Two flag at New Central Park ahead taking on fellow new boys FC Edinburgh, fresh from their rebranding.
“There is no pressure on us to a certain extent,” says Barrowman.
“We put pressure on ourselves internally. We’ll go into the league season and see what we can do.
“What we do have is a squad of players who in the main have been here for two years and are used to winning games of football.
“So that comes with a momentum, a belief, a confidence, and we’ll take that into the season.”
Kelty supporter Keith Carver has a similar view: “My first thought is to consolidate in the division.
“That’s my initial thought, but as the momentum builds… .”
He compares the difference between the modest expectations going into the last campaign and what transpired: “We were hunting down Rangers’ record points total but never quite made it.
“That’s how expectations changed over the season!”
Previously a Berwick Rangers fan from when he lived in the Borders, Keith started attending New Central Park around five years ago when Kelty joined the East of Scotland League.
Initially he was drawn to see some of the clubs from his old neck of the woods. He was instantly hooked.
“When I started watching the games, it was absolutely fantastic football,” he says.
“Put it this way, it was a lot better than watching the big games on television!
“It’s been like that every year: good quality football and they really put their heart and soul into it.”
‘A tough, tough league’
Despite the successful arc the club is clearly on there is a realism at New Central Park as they enter a division with a number of sides who will fancy their chances.
“We want to be competitive,” says Barrowman. “We know it’s going to be a tough, tough league, with four full-time teams.
“As we progress up the levels we knew we were going to come to the stage where there are going to be tougher challenges ahead.
“But we want to be competitive, we also want to challenge.
“We always want to keep progressing, on the pitch and off the pitch.”
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