GLENAFTON manager Ryan Caddis says he isn’t finished adding to his squad for the new season – but he insists he’ll only sign up new players if they’re the right ones for his team.

Caddis has seen his players put to the test against SPFL opposition in their opening two friendly matches, against Dumbarton last week and Partick Thistle on Saturday.

And though both matches ended in defeat – 4-0 against the Sons and 4-2 at the hands of the Firhill side – the Glens boss says he’s pleased with how his players responded to the challenge.

So far Caddis has added Armand Dollani, Lewis Currie, Ross Lindsay, Evan Maley and Andy Strachan to his squad, and with less than three weeks to go until the opening round of games in the West of Scotland Football League, the manager says there could be more to come.

“We’ve got a couple of irons in the fire,” he said. “We’ll see how the next few weeks go with that.

“So far we’ve added a few great players. They’re great honest lads and great additions.

“We’ve got a few in training with us. I could go out and sign people just now but they need to be the right ones.”

With the Dumbarton and Partick Thistle friendlies under their belts, next up for the Glens is another home game against Cambuslang Rangers this Saturday, before Ardrossan Winton Rovers come to Loch Park on Tuesday, July 17.

Reflecting on his side’s pre-season friendly schedule, Caddis said: “You usually try and start with the easier ones and finish with harder games!

“I know Stevie Farrell, the Dumbarton manager, so we had a friendly with them. They moved the ball excellently, they’ll do really well this year.

“It was hard on us but it was a good learning curve for us.”

Saturday’s game against Partick Thistle was part of the deal that saw Luke McBeth move from Loch Park to Firhill at the turn of the year – and Caddis says he’d like to see the fixture become an annual event.

The game was preceded by a minute’s silence in memory of Gerry Collins, who managed both clubs and who died in May aged 69.

“To be fair, Thistle played a really strong side,” Caddis said.

“It was a great day, a great occasion and it could be something we could do every year – the two clubs seemed really happy with it.

“It wasn’t as if Partick came down and we kicked lumps out them. It was a good game.

“It was ideal fitness-wise for the boys because we done a lot of chase ball and playing against teams like that who move the ball, rotate well it’s good because we hope to work on that eventually.

“It was definitely worthwhile. It’s been a learning curve for everybody.

“I said to the boys, they need to look at Luke as an example of what hard work, the right mindset and dedication can get you.

“Big Luke had it all and went about it the right way – and there is no reason the rest of them can’t do that.”

While Glens’ friendly fixtures have given Caddis plenty of reasons to be cheerful, following last season’s great escape which saw the club retain its top flight status with one game to go, the manager says he’s under no illusions about what the 2024-25 league campaign holds in store for his team.

“It’s going to be a fight to stay in the league again,” he said. “There’s no point in me filling people’s heads with nonsense, saying we’re going to go win the league, because we need to be realistic at the same time.

“We can’t compete financially with some of the other teams, but that doesn’t mean we can’t compete on the pitch.

“We just need to set up a different way and have a different approach for certain games.

“I’m under no illusions. It’s going to be tough, but it will be tough for everybody.

“I’m sure there will be a lot of teams that won’t be looking forward to coming down to New Cumnock. We need to make the place as hard as we can and give the fans a team that will work their backsides off.

“I’ve told the players this. The crowd that they play for are the grafters. Every single one of them works their backsides off. The minimum they can expect from us is the same.

“That’s the main thing, it’s a graft, it’s hard work and hopefully the bits of quality take care of themselves – and we’re ready for it.”