Johnstone Burgh’s season may be over but the hard work is only just beginning for manager Jamie McKim.

After joining the club in January, he has guided the Burgh to a ninth-place finish, with a particularly impressive end to the season.

McKim’s side took points from promotion chasing sides such as St Anthony’s – and a 3-3 draw with Gartcairn on the final day prevented their opponents from winning the title.

Now the Burgh boss has revealed he has been taking in plenty of matches elsewhere as he searches for new recruits and aims to put his own stamp on the squad this summer.

He said: “The squad for the Gartcairn game only had three boys in it from the first game that I was involved in. I signed the other 13, so it’s been a huge rebuilding job, but there’s still going to be a lot of changes in the summer.

“There’s only so much we could have done when we first came in. Everyone was signed up until the end of the season, so it’s going to be a big summer for us.

“The teams round about us can offer more money than us and, as soon as we do well, these teams are sniffing about our players.

“As long as we keep a good environment for them, we can build a good squad.

“We’ve been covering games four nights a week for the past month or so. We’ve actually been going to games on a Saturday morning before heading off to ours.

“There’s three of us and we’re covering as many games as we can at the moment to try and build the best squad possible.

“We’re looking to build experience down the middle of the team with young, quicker guys out wide. You need a good mixture.

“If you do all the work just now, you can relax during pre-season and you’re not scrambling about for players. If you put the work in just now, you can relax come the end of the season.”

With the end of the season being so successful for Burgh, McKim has set lofty targets for the next campaign.

He added: “I told the boys who we have already and I’ve told the committee that the target next season is to win the league. I’m really confident in what I do and what my coaches do.

“It’s going to be my first full season at this level but I’m really excited.”