IRVINE MEADOW co-manager Colin Spence says he is confident his side are already in better shape for the new season than they were last year.

Medda returned to training on Monday night after getting the go-ahead from the Scottish Government and West of Scotland Football League bosses to commence their preparations for the new campaign.

The North Ayrshire side have already recruited well since football was placed into cold storage back in March – adding the likes of Dylan Pooler, Martin Findlay and Michael Reilly to their ranks.

Spence says he and fellow co-gaffer James Latta believe they have the players this season to provide more entertaining football for the Medda fans and he can’t wait to get into the full flow of pre-season.

He told the Times: “We’re all raring to go and get back training. We got the go ahead for Monday (June 20). There’s a lot of protocol involved but we’ve got everything in motion.

“I’ve been used to being part of a team all my days – you miss it. Whether it’s playing or now managing, you’re still in amongst the boys in the changing room.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever had this long away from the club. Lockdown has been a wake up call to everybody to show them what football means. It’s such a big part of a lot of people’s lives.

“We’re just looking forward to kicking balls about again. We’ve had no word about contact games yet but we’ll play it by ear.

“In terms of recruitment, I think the break has probably helped us. James and I were very busy on the phone to players and identifying targets to bring in. We’ve managed to get seven signed up so the squad’s looking decent.

“Hopefully we can change our style ever so slightly from last year. The old manager favoured a defensive style, making us hard to beat but we’re keen to make it a bit easier on the eye to excite the fans a bit more with our football. We’ve got the players to do that. No matter who plays, we’ve got options to switch it up, which wasn’t the case last season.

“I think we’re in a stronger position so hopefully that reflects when we start playing games again.”