Pre-Season Matches

Shire are starting to piece together a pre-season programme. So far the matches confirmed are :

Wednesday 12th July Dunfermline Athletic @ Grangemouth Stadium

Monday 24th July Stenhousemuir (a) Stirlingshire Cup 1st Round

Wednesday 26th July Falkirk (h) Stirlingshire Cup 1st Round

More matches will be added in the next week or two. Meanwhile, boss Gordon Wylde has announced 26 year old Shotts Bon Accord midfielder, Paul Stewart, has become the club's first new signing of the summer. Paul put pen to paper on a contract earlier this week.

Wylde is chasing at least five players, and is hopeful of getting some of them. Negotiations are underway to bring what the boss calls "a better quality of player" to Firs Park. But he is giving no clue as to the identity of his transfer targets.

Firs Park Chief Slams First Division Plans

Shire Secretary, Les Thomson, has hit out at plans for the re-shaping of the Scottish game put forward by the First Division clubs.

The discussion document issued by the clubs suggests the team finishing bottom of the Third Division would be involved in a play-off with two teams applying to join the SFL. Thomson's worried this part of the proposal has not been though through.

"Where would we go ?, " he asked. "If this were to happen any club which finishes bottom and were relegated would simply go under unless they had somwhere to go. Where would we go ? The Highland League ? That would just be a waste of time. We need to have discussions about giving an alternative if that were ever to come about."

Thomson denied Shire were in favour of the status quo. "We welcome competition and I favour a pyramid system but we need to hold talks about how that will work. A lot of Third Division teams have spent time going through all the conditions to meet the new SFA licence, but junior clubs and the Highland League and the like have not.

"They only rarely have to deal with things like policing and stewarding. And then there are all the other requirements like the size of your pitch, spectator safety even floodlights. Are they going to replace one club that has a licence with one that doesn't meet all the criteria ?"

Thomson also claimed Third Division clubs had been excluded from the talks which drew up the plan released at Hampden Park earlier and there had been no consultation.

He also holds the view that any change will come from within the SFA and the SFL rather than through threats of breakaways.

Shire are already feeling the pressure of an SFL rule introduced last year which could trigger a vote on a club's league membership if it finishes bottom of the Third Division four seasons in succession.

Stenhousemuir Confirm Tyrrell Signing

Stenhousemuir have confirmed the signing of Shire captain Paul Tyrrell. Because the player is over the age of 24 and out of contract Shire will receive no fee. Bucket had declared his intention to leave Firs Park and had not considered the offer of another one year deal.

"Paul is a player I have admired for some time," said Warriors boss Des McKeown. "When he was still playing for Kilsyth Amateurs I wanted to sign him for our reserve team but was beaten to it by Dennis Newall. He has the right attributes that I want to bring to Stenhousemuir. In the 7-0 game last season he was still making tackles like it was the World Cup Final, and that impressed me."

Shire's captain leaves Firs Park with the plaudits still ringing out from the faithful, who named him their Player of the Year for the season just ended.

Pre-Season Training Underway

Less than three weeks after Shire's final game of the season, preparations for the new campaign are already underway. Voluntary fitness and conditioning sessions for the signed players started at Polmont Young Offenders' Institution this evening.

The prison setting could hardly be more appropriate as the "volunteers" did weight training and circuit work. The aim of the exercise was obvious.

"We need to get the players a lot fitter than they were last season, " said boss Gordon Wylde. "Some players need to lose weight. People like Paul Tweedie, who have been out of the senior team for some time, needs to build up strength and stamina. And Derek Ure could benefit from putting on a bit of bulk.

"Physio Iain MacIver and myself have put together personal fitness plans for each of the playersto follow and we hope they do. We had a lot of injuries last term and that was, in my opinion, down to the fact that the players were just not fit enough."

The sessions will continue every Thursday throughout the summer until pre-season gets serious, with the official return date set for 28th June.

Wylde Lines Up New Midfielder

Boss, Gordon Wylde, is closing in on the signing of Shotts Bon Accord midfielder, Paul Stewart. The 26 year old scored ten times for the West Superleague team last season, and has made a verbal agreement with Shire to join up for next season. Wylde is hoping that deal can be finalised in the near future.

His attempts to sign a promising young defender released by an SPL club are not going as smoothly as he would like. Wylde is also waiting to hear from a midfielder who was on the fringes of the first team at a Second Division side last season.

Warriors Interested In Bucket

Stenhousemuir manager, Des McKeown, has confirmed he is interested in taking Shire's out-of-contract captain, Paul Tyrrell, to Ochilview.

"He is a player I admire and I have already tried to sign him from Shire, but they knocked back our offer," McKeown told Zebra Diary.

"We have two lists of target players. One is those we think would strengthen the squad for next season, and another of players who we might want to bring in if any on the first list fall through. I won't say which list Paul Tyrrell is on."

McKeown added he hoped to talk to the Shire player next week about a potential move. As a free agent Bucket is entitled to speak to any club he likes, but clubs have to wait until Moday's deadline before they can make official approaches.

Tyrrell, the supporters' Player of the Year in the season just finished, has rejected a new deal with Shire. "I don't expect he will be with us next season," said Firs Park boss, Gordon Wylde.

Search For A Star Underway

Boss Gordon Wylde has put the disappointment of losing the Tyrrell brothers behind him and is concentrating his efforts on bringing in replacements. Already, a couple of players have taken his eye.

One is a youngster just released by Falkirk, and Wylde also revealed to Zebra Diary that he has already been in contact with a midfielder/striker who was with Shotts Bon Accord last term.

"He is 26 and can play just off the front two. He has scored a few goals for Shotts who finished third in their league last season. I have spoken to him a couple of times and he seems quite keen to come here."

Wylde ceretainly knows what he is looking for. "I need two good full-backs and a commanding centre half. We must make sorting out the left-hand side of the pitch a priority. We had to play Derek Ure in there and that was not the best solution. I want to push him further up the pitch next season." Nine of last season's squad have re-signed.

Pre-season training starts in the last week of June, but before that Wylde and physio Iain MacIver will put the players through their paces in a series of scientific tests designed to show their levels of fitness. They will need to work hard because Wylde has ordered five training sessions a week in the build-up to the first competitive games.

Tyrrells Seek Pastures New

The Tyrrell brothers, Mark and Paul, have told the club they will not be signing contracts and will seek new clubs for next season. Jordan Smith and Marc McKenzie have also signalled their Shire careers are at an end by similary rejecting terms for the 2006/07 season.

All four have been mainstays for the last few months. The Tyrrells have been two of Shire's best performers throughout the campaign, with Paul picking up the Supporters' Player Of The Year Award. Centre-half Smith has been a virtual ever-present since signing from Arbroath and Shire spent two months trying to persuade McKenzie to sign until the end of the season.

"Players are entitled to do what they want and if they think they can get a better deal elsewhere, good luck to them," said Shire boss Gordon Wylde. "I am looking to bring in six or seven new faces, but that will be difficult.

"I want younger players who maybe have been at full-time clubs but who have been freed. But again it depends on how well I sell the club to them. But they should consider maybe getting a job or going to college and coming here for the chance of first team football and maybe the opportunity of a better move."

Wylde has re-signed eight of last season's squad for another season, and has given others an ultimatum over the summer; Get fit and you might be offered terms. Among those who will return for the 2006/07 season is striker Paul Tweedie, who impressed in the last few matches.