Another league title tilt is how we roll, says Bonnyrigg boss Jonny Stewart

The New Dundas Park outfit led Scottish football's fifth tier for long spells of the 2025/2026 campaign only to fall at the final hurdle as Linlithgow Rose leapfrogged Stewart's men with just a couple of games to spare to steal the crown.

Bonnyrigg Rose boss Jonny Stewart

Having suffered relegation from League Two just 12 months prior, Bonnyrigg were in with a big shout of promotion to the SPFL at the first time of asking had they gone on to contest the pyramid play-offs.

However, after 34 games, Rose placed third six points adrift of Linlithgow, the champions then being denied the right to contest the play-off semi-finals due to licensing issues. Edinburgh City retained their League Two status with a 3-1 aggregate victory over Highland League champions Brora Rangers.

But having taken time to reflect on a season that saw Bonnyrigg amass just eight points from their first seven league fixtures, Stewart insists the remit will always be to challenge for trophies with the forthcoming campaign following suit.

"There's no secret that winning the title is our ambition," Stewart told the Evening News. "I think when you're at a club like Bonnyrigg it's got to be your ambition and the No.1 target. I've already said that to the boys. That is our aim. We accept it, respect other teams in the league, and we know it's going to be very difficult to do that, but there's no point beating around the bush and saying that we're not going to try and win the league.

"I think there's a certain degree of pressure that comes when you play for Bonnyrigg and you are expected to win almost every game. That's a pressure in itself and that's just something we've got to live with.

"It was a really disappointing end to the season to be perfectly honest with you. We didn't start the season great, we had a really, really poor start for various different reasons. But the boys went on an unbelievable run in that middle sector which put us in a really good position. We probably just drew too many games and dropped some silly points towards the end, and it cost us.

"There's a lot to learn, a lot to take on moving forward. I think the biggest thing for the boys is that they can't just pick and choose when to turn up. They proved across that middle part of the season that they were good enough to beat everyone, and we did. But there were times where we weren't quite at it or maybe only playing 70-75 per cent and we got beat or dropped points. It's a really difficult league.

"I still think there was a lot of positives to take from last year. We didn't win the league or get promoted which was our target at the start of the season, but there were still a lot of positives to take. We had quite a young squad last year. We changed the way we played as the previous manager was a bit more direct, more longer balls, and speaking to a lot of the fans they were impressed with our style of play.

"I know the league's now been split for this season but it will be very competitive again with no easy games and there's probably going to be four or five teams up there challenging to win it.

"We obviously suffered real disappointment the season before last, but I think getting relegated outweighs the disappointment of not winning the league. Relegation was a tough one to take. I know I only came in towards the latter stages but it's never nice for a manager to have a relegation on their CV."

Former midfielder Stewart, who spent 10 years as a player with the Midlothian-based side, has been steadily assembling his squad for the new season which gets underway in four weeks' time. Kieran Watson, Josh Laing, and Mackenzie Scott, have all joined from Spartans while key men Bradley Barrett and Billy King have extended their stays at New Dundas Park.

Rose are about to kick off a busy pre-season schedule with fixtures against League Two and East of Scotland League sides. The club will also make their debut in this year's KDM Evolution Trophy as they look forward to testing themselves against SPFL opposition.

"We're back training three times per week," Stewart said. "We have our pre-season friendlies lined up, and then the league starts on July 25. So, yeah, it's good to get the boys back in. It's been quite a long break to be honest, the season finished pretty early this year so they've had quite a long period off.

"But we gave all the players training programmes to follow to keep themselves ticking over and, credit to them, they've come back in decent shape. Training's been hard the last week but it's all positive so far.

"We've retained a lot of players from last season. We've let some go, some of the boys have gone back to their parent clubs, but I'm happy with what I've got at my disposal. It's always important to keep that spine of the squad but also add a few fresh faces which gives the squad a lift.

"I think the five we've brought in are excellent signings. And I think they'll really bring something to the squad. If we can get one or two more in, then great. But I think the squad's in a good place. Giving some of the youth players a chance too is also one of the reasons why I'm going with a slightly smaller squad,

"We're going to have two under-20s sides competing this season, and there's a lot of good players within those squads. A few of them have been training with us already, we've had four or five faces up with us over the last week, and they've all held their own, so there's opportunities there for them, especially over pre-season. The younger guys have to take the opportunity when it comes their way."