IN the shadows of Scotland’s football giants, smaller, community clubs are fighting an uphill battle for recognition, resources, and success.
Behind the scenes, a fierce power struggle unfolds as these teams strive to punch above their weight, battling financial constraints and organisational challenges while dreaming of making their mark on the national stage.
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This is the inside story of Kelty Hearts rise to SPFL stardom, and how they helped shift the landscape of lower league Scottish football.
Kelty escaped non-league football after over a decade in the East of Scotland pyramid, and have found a way to thrive, when many thought they wouldn’t.
They made the jump from non-league into the SPFL in 2021, after they defeated Brechin City in the playoff final.
But their meteoric rise didn’t stop there, and just twelve months later, Kelty found themselves in League One, claiming the League Two title at their first attempt.
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And manager Tam O’Ware is determined his side haven’t yet hit their ceiling, and the club have ambitions of continuing to battle against the odds, to further solidify their place in the football pyramid.
He said: “Since going into League One, the biggest challenge has been our budget.
“We have the lowest budget in the league this year. So it then becomes about being creative with the recruitment side of things.
“As a club, we want to play football play we have the ball, so we have to recruit players that are able to do that, within the budget that we have.
“When it comes to finances, we simply can’t compete with some of the teams in the division. That’s where our strategy in the transfer market has to give you something a bit different – so we have to be switched on and plan ahead.
“Part of being a part-time side with a smaller budget is ultimately having a smaller squad. So you’re relying on players more often than you’d like.
“We’ve had to reduce the playing squad to keep the quality of player that we have within a smaller budget this year.
“So we need to find the balance of when they push the players, when they look after them.
“But it’s also down to the the work put in behind the scenes, whether it’s the secretary, the chairman of our volunteers, there’s so many people within the community that chip in.
“They don’t get paid for that, but it’s that community feeling around the club that’s helped us succeed at a high level.
In their first season in League One, Kelty secured an 8th place finish, narrowly avoiding the relegation playoffs.
And after back to back sixth-place finishes, and continued participation in the third-tier, the clubs ambitions are clear – survival.
“Ultimately, the clubs vision is to stay in the division. It’s a massive achievement considering where they were, and in the quality of division we’re in, nobody is going to complain if we achieve that.
“With time, and with staying at this level, you can build on that experience of being in the SPFL, and there are more opportunities for further investment and resources for the squad to improve.
Kelty have also started to make a name for themselves in the cup competitions.
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Despite a continued focus on remaining in League One, New Central Park has seen two major cup shocks in the past few seasons.
The Maroon Machine famously saw off Callum Davidson’s double-winning St Johnstone side in the 21/22 Scottish Cup 4th Round.
And just last season, they defeated David Gray’s Hibs 1-0 in the Group Stages of the 24/25 Premier Sports Cup.
And those victories have had a huge impact on the club off the pitch.
He added: “The focus for us is always the league. But those cup competitions are so important as it’s extra funding for the club.
“There’s nothing better than going a run in one of the cups.
“Anything can happen, they are huge for the clubs financial state, and that will be the same at a lot of other clubs.
“Hibs are a massive club for one of the biggest clubs in Scotland and again, there hasn’t been many big games here – other than St Johnstone prior to that.
“The fans turned out in numbers and it was an incredible feeling.
“It was a great day for the club and again, we want an experience more of those days here.
“If you look at our results over the last two seasons, we’ve always started well and then fallen away.
“This season we were top of the league at the turn of the year. We changed management, it obviously didn’t go to plan and then again, for whatever reason, we found ourselves just four points off the relegation playoff place with four to play.”
However, some clubs have been unable to fight the various challenges facing them, and have suffered a variety of consequences as a result.
Clyde, and Hamilton Academical will both play their football away from home this season, with newly relegated Lowland League side, with Dumbarton, and Inverness Caledonian Thistle also plunging into administration in the past year.
And just this summer, Scottish football lost Glasgow-based Broomhill, with the club dissolving following their relegation from the Lowland League.
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Zander Diamond’s side had been ground-sharing with League Two side, Dumbarton, and were on the wrong end of an incredibly tight relegation scrap, which went down to the final day.
Now, Zander has taken up a position at fellow Lowland League side, Cumbernauld Colts, a club with huge ambitions on improving on an inconsistent 24/25 campaign – under a new regime.
After their relegation, higher-ups released a statement calling time on their time as a club, and Zander is determined to carry his experiences with Broomhill into the next chapter of his career.
He said: “It’s incredibly challenging. Juggling Broomhill with my my other job, it was just constant because any spare half-an-hour at lunchtime or interval, I was on my phone, and then back to teaching, coaching, and then when I was home from work, I was back on the phone again.
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“So my wife and my kids probably didn’t seen me for the best part three or four months in the initial phase because I was so determined to get it right.
“It was a lot of kind of a challenging evenings where you kind of look at it and you go, you know, but you wake up the next day and you go again, you keep going again.
“It was off the field stuff that was incredibly difficult. It almost became all consuming because as a manager, especially at a smaller club, you’re always thinking about how can we get better? How can we get better players?
“The reality is, we don’t have money to spend on players, we’ve got to move budgets around, trial players and get a squad together somehow.
“We were right in at the deep end as well. The fixtures came out and our first three games were Broxburn, East of Scotland Champions, home to Celtic, who have got a fantastic youth system, and then the champions East Kilbride at home – a real baptism of fire.
“As a staff we had to sort of just agree to get a team on the park – and it was a real tough start for us. I learned a lot from Broomhill, because there were so many obstacles.
“The Dumbarton share wasn’t ideal, but it had to happen for the club. They were fairly local, but we definitely suffered some of the consequences of playing there.
“Every time it was rain, showers or hail, you just knew the game was going to be off. It made things difficult because, how do you put a run of games together?
“We couldn’t really get any run of momentum or form, and what can you really do about it? So if you had a great game, and the next game in the middle of the week was off, it just kind of kills that positive mentality.
“You always learn from every experience, whether that’s good or bad, and there was a lot of challenges we faced, but positives to take away from it.
Now at Broadwood, Colts are hard at work assembling their side for the 24/25 season, and while taking a backseat from the manager’s role, Zander is optimistic of a positive first season with the club – and is busy planning for the season ahead.
He added: “You can see early signs, and they are positive. There’s a good camaraderie around the team.
“We’re going to need that, because it’ll be a season where we’re going to need to stick together. And that’s the biggest message that we’re probably putting over to players.
“Nobody’s going to give us a chance again, because we finished 14th last season.
“It’s a decent league and I think we’ve got players that are capable, are competing.
“We’ve brought back quality players, and we’ll give them every bit of information, the structure and training information, and the tools that they need.
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“And again, it’s just about these players taking on both players. learning, asking questions, I think that’s the beauty of it.
“It’s an exciting season ahead.”
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