Brechin boss Darren Dods has thanked the club’s board for their backing this summer.
The capture last weekend of former Raith Rovers and Alloa defender Dougie Hill means the Glebe gaffer now has 16 players signed up for this campaign.
His squad had their first pre-season run-out against Aberdeen on Sunday at home with the Dons, who are ahead of Brechin in terms of preparation because of their impending Europa League matches, winning 3-0.
However, that was still a huge improvement on a similar friendly against Derek McInnes’s side last summer when Aberdeen trounced a makeshift Brechin outfit packed full of trialists 8-2.
Now though, Dods has assembled an impressive squad with stalwarts such as Darren McCormack, Gary Fusco and Graeme Smith all agreeing new deals while the manager has added others such as Hill, Ally Love and Ross Caldwell.
Dods admitted he is delighted with the progress made and he will also continue to run the rule over two trialists who featured at the weekend, Gareth Rodger and Elliot Ford.
He said: “We actually tried to get Gareth in on loan twice last season from St Johnsone but he went to Ballymena and then we were pipped to the post by Forfar in January.
“He did well against Aberdeen and we will continue to monitor him when we play Raith Rovers at the weekend along with Elliot Ford.
“He will also play against his former club and then we will take things from there.
“Overall, the game against Aberdeen was a good work-out.
“Last season, I was thrown in at the deep end, so to speak, and we lost 8-2 but it was a lot different this time round.
“With Dougie Hill joining us at the weekend, we now have 16 signed up and with trialists that’s 18 to 20 players at training which makes a huge difference.
“I have to thank the board for backing me to the hilt this summer.
“The club obviously had a difficult spell last season but as soon as we knew we were going to be playing in League 1 again, I was able to start speaking to signing targets.
“We have managed to get most of them on board but the early start was vital as you find that part-time boys especially want their futures sorted out in the first couple of weeks after the season finishes.”
