Edinburgh City boss James McDonaugh ready for another League Two promotion push after reconstruction disappointment

Edinburgh City manager, James McDonaugh. (Photo by Euan Cherry / SNS Group)

Edinburgh City boss James McDonaugh is ready for another crack at winning promotion from League Two despite being left disappointed with the outcome of SPFL reconstruction talks.

The Ainslie Park side were sitting comfortably in second place and all but guaranteed another shot at the play-offs when the campaign was forced into a premature conclusion by coronavirus.

While catching Cove Rangers – who were 13 points clear when football was suspended – may have been a tall order, there was a genuine belief that City would have followed them into League One.

But the decision to scrap the remainder of the fixtures - including play-offs - as well as the lack of support for the proposed 14-10-10-10 restructure, has left McDonaugh preparing for another go at escaping the fourth tier.

"We've just kept our counsel with everything that was going on, but we were probably affected as much as a lot of other teams in that we could've had a good chance of promotion," he said.

"The league wasn't actually over yet. Cove were worthy winners in the end but we still had them to play and we had a game in hand. If we'd won both those games it could have been down to seven points with six or seven games to play.

"We were never giving up on that and we were the form team out of the four play-off teams that would've gone into that. We were going into the rest of the season with players coming back from injury and a bit of confidence so we're disappointed we never got a chance to go up either through the voting system or actually playing the games.

"We would have been quite happy to play the semi-final and final if it meant being given the chance to get promoted, but we take all that on the chin. It's just the reality of it and we accept it.

"Next season will be another challenge. I think we've made progress every year in the three years I've been here. Ninth to third to second is pretty good.

"Queen's Park going full-time will be a real challenge for us and it seems that teams are still spending a bit of money despite what we've heard in the climate so it will be a strong league again. We just need to work hard and try to make sure we're at the top half of it."

While happy with the way his preparations for the new season are going given the circumstances, McDonaugh admits that he has found lockdown challenging, particularly the lack of physical interaction with players.

"It's been absolutely terrible to be honest. You go from full flow to just nothing," he said. "You're not able to leave the house, or have contact with players with everyone on furlough, and you're left wondering if the club will survive, or if Scottish football will survive.

"There's new votes taking place every couple of weeks so you don't know if you're coming or going. There's been a lot of uncertainty and the whole thing with trying to keep everyone safe has just been really difficult.

"In terms of trying to build a squad, you're just relying on your phone. You're not able to speak to people face to face and get a feel for them in terms of do they want to come to the club, do they want to stay at the club, or how they are feeling. The whole side of that has been really hard to comprehend to be honest."

McDonaugh has managed to retain a core of last season's squad, but is hoping to strengthen in every department, with three new additions expected in the next seven to 10 days having reached a verbal agreement.

One player who has already put pen to paper is striker Ousman See, who returns to the club for a second spell after leaving Albion Rovers, and McDonaugh has high hopes for the 25-year-old.

"He's a player that can run in behind, he's a good size being over 6ft, he's mobile and I'm looking forward to working with him," he said. "His career has probably stuttered a wee bit in the last couple of years and hopefully we can try and get the best out of him and improve him again.

"We've got players here who can provide him the service and hopefully his attributes will complement the rest of the team.”