RENFREW co-manager Martin Ferry has praised his squad’s efforts after it was finally confirmed they will be promoted to the top flight of Junior football.

Rutherglen Glencairn’s defeat at the hands of Irvine Meadow on Saturday clinched the Frew’s Premier Division place nearly a month after their own campaign came to a close.

Promotion completes a wonderful turnaround at the club, which just three seasons ago was without a home and playing in the third level of the Juniors.

And Ferry, who along with co-manager Colin Clark has overseen the transformation, was quick to heap praise on the work done by everyone at the club.

He said: “It’s been 10 years in the making and a lot of hard work from not just me and Colin but the committee and all the backroom staff.

“We have started from scratch, more or less, and have been very fortunate that most of the guys we have signed for the club have wanted to be there.

“We probably have one of the smallest budgets in this league and people don’t realise the time and effort the management team and committee have put into this. Colin and the background team have been brilliant this season. Everybody goes about it in the right way and there are no egos.

“There are teams that are just trying to buy their way into the league but we can’t do that. It’s not in our make-up. That makes our achievement even more special.”

Renfrew’s promotion to the Premier Division has been spearheaded by the likes of Thomas Miller and David McKenna, whose experience with the likes of Stirling Albion and Brechin City has proved crucial.

Ferry admits more work needs to be done to prepare the club as it looks forward to welcoming Junior football powerhouses such as Auchinleck Talbot and Pollok to New Western Park next season.

He added: “It’s going to be a new challenge for the club and it will be a long summer of recruitment but we’ve got the nucleus of the team that has been promoted.

“We want them to go and prove themselves in the top league.

“We will need to do a bit of recruitment but we need to remember where we are and where we want to go and there is obviously a financial constraint on us, too.

“The place is buzzing and we are just looking forward to trying to stay in the league next season.”