George Manson believes the Breedon Highland League is in a good place as he prepares to step down as president.
Manson’s three years in the post will come to an end at tonight’s AGM in Keith.
During his tenure, the Highland League have had to deal with a few challenges.
When Manson succeeded Raymond Cardno in 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic was still an issue.
A year later, the 77-year-old was tasked with finding a new league secretary when Rod Houston stepped down, and this season a fixture backlog caused a headache.
Reflecting on his time as president, Manson, who is the league’s first office bearer from Turriff United, said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being president of the league.
“There have been challenges here and there, but overall I’m proud to have held the role.
“At the start of my time, Covid was still an issue we had to deal with.
“Latterly, the poor weather and issues with getting games played in time has been another issue.
“But the league secretary John Campbell has done a good job of ensuring things run smoothly.
“I don’t think people appreciate how complex a job it is. The job of secretary is a very important position and we were very lucky to get the right person in John when Rod stepped down.
“It’s been very good working within the office-bearers group with vice-presidents Sandy Sinclair and Gordon Booth, John and assistant secretary Graham Wilson.
“The league management committee ultimately runs the league and every club is represented.
“There haven’t been many votes and things have usually been settled quite amicably – which is no bad thing.”
Plenty of competition
As he looks to the future, Manson feels the league is in a good place.
He added: “The league is in a very good position I think. It’s hugely competitive and I think this season was the most competitive it’s been across the board for a long time.
“For three seasons running now, the league title has been decided on the final day of the season which is a great thing.
“At higher levels, you see teams a long way in front of everyone else, but we haven’t had that in recent years.
“There is a group of six or seven clubs who have usually been up there and then a group below that and another group below that.
“All of those teams in the middle group are pushing very hard to get into the top six or seven and we’ve seen that this season.
“Every club is striving to improve on and off the pitch.”
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