KELTY HEARTS have begun planning for next season by agreeing new contract terms with one of their influential stars.

Prior to playing Hamilton Academical in their final game of the League One campaign at the weekend, the New Central Park club announced that Ross Cunningham has extended his stay.

The 25-year-old, who joined Michael Tidser's team last summer, will remain with the 'Maroon Machine' until June 2025.

Midfielder Cunningham, who came through the youth ranks with Hamilton, moved to Kelty from Clyde, where he had spent three years, following their relegation to League Two.

He has been a regular feature for player / manager Tidser, going on to make 35 appearances during the season, scoring six goals.

A new deal for Cunningham comes after Kelty earned their highest-ever SPFL finish by placing sixth in League One, two players higher than their first campaign in Scottish football's third tier during the 2022/23 season.

Tidser, in his first season as manager, kept his team in contention to snatch a place in the promotion play-off places until the penultimate weekend, when a defeat to Montrose, who claimed the final position, ended those aspirations.

With their League One season over, he is also set to lose the services of on-loan players like Dundee United midfielder, Lewis O'Donnell, Aberdeen forward, Alfie Bavidge, Hartlepool United and Falkirk defenders, Brody Paterson and Brad McKay, Hamilton attacker, Joe McGlynn, and Hibernian's Rueben McAllister.