League title win won't be enough to satisfy Lewis Turner

Lewis Turner has found a new lease of life at Albyn Park [Pic: Andrew MacPherson]

The midfielder only joined the Albyn Park side in the summer but looking at his performances for the West Lothian club in the centre of the park this season, you would think he had been there a lot longer.

Broxburn are flying high at the top of the East of Scotland Premier Division and look odds on to secure league title, but a title win won’t be enough for Turner as he’s determined to take the club up to the Lowland League.

The 31-year-old, who became a dad this week with the arrival of son Jude on Wednesday, experienced two promotions with the Rose – and he’s desperate for Broxburn to follow in his old club’s footsteps.

“I’ve not enjoyed my football this much for a while – probably back to when I was at playing 90 minutes every week for Bonnyrigg and we were winning the Super League, and then winning this league,” said Turner.

“Towards the latter stages at Bonnyrigg I wasn’t playing all the time, I had a few injuries and we got promoted into League Two but I wasn’t playing every week then.

“It feels like I’ve been at Broxburn for a lot longer than I have been. It’s a great group of boys, the dressing room is different class. Behind the scenes we are treated so well, everything is perfect. The club definitely has the infrastructure behind it to go up and do well.

“I’ve said that to the boys already [about how similar this group is to the one I was a part of at Bonnyrigg], they will probably be thinking to themselves ‘Does this guy ever stop talking about Bonnyrigg?’ but I always compare it because I was there for that long and we were so successful.

“I think to myself ‘What makes a team successful?’ and it’s about having a good group of boys that stick together. We’ve had three or four nights out and there’s been 20 plus at every night out. You speak to other boys that are at teams that aren’t doing so well and there is five or six of them on the team night out.

“I think it’s massive, especially at this level because you are there for the enjoyment and you need a good social side. You’ve got to trust each other on the pitch so it’s massive that you are a close-knit group off the pitch.”

Ahead of hosting Inverkeithing Hillfield Swifts at Albyn Park tomorrow, Turner continued: “I came here to get promoted. I wouldn’t just be happy winning the league and then not getting promoted, I don’t want to have to play in this league again next season.

“It’s strange, when I first signed I was looking forward to being an older player in the dressing room, because when I was at Bonnyrigg I always had Jonny [Stewart], Cuzza [Lee Currie], and even going back further with boys like Adam Nelson.

“I look back when we won leagues at Bonnyrigg and a few of the boys had their children on the pitch – I want to experience that for myself now, it’s a big motivation for me.”