THE PRESIDENT of one of “Rosyth’s worst kept secrets” is hoping to mark 10 years at Fife Southern Rugby Club’s helm with an increase in playing members.

Former player Alan Bradshaw celebrated a decade at the head of the club earlier this month and he admits that the Harley Street based outfit face a continual struggle to attract players at senior and youth levels while in the shadow of Dunfermline Rugby Club.

But Bradshaw, who enjoyed almost 10 years as a prop forward with the club after settling in the town 21 years ago while serving in the navy, says that making sure that their presence is known in Rosyth is key to recruiting fresh faces.

He told Press Sport, “Getting our name out there is the key for us because it is surprising the number of people from Rosyth who have never been to the club premises or just never knew that we existed. We are one of Rosyth’s worst kept secrets and what we are is a grass roots club.

“We are running one senior team at the minute but clubs in general are fielding fewer teams. That is happening across all sports but years before we could field up to two teams and Dunfermline would have four or five on a good day, but now they are down to three.

“Although we have a youth section from primary seven to under-18s, the youths struggle more than the seniors. Clubs like Dunfermline have the resource to send people into schools but we have invested in a modern apprenticeship scheme that will hopefully help bring more youngsters in. Our youth players are going to start playing at senior level at some point and some of our under-18s are starting to coach the younger kids, so there are opportunities there.” Fife Southern currently play in the BT Caledonia League Division Four (Midlands) and are scheduled to play their final match of 2014 away to Glenrothes 2XV this Saturday.

And Alan, who was presented with a bottle of whisky to mark his 10 years as president by team members, added, “When I moved here I went down to the club and liked what I saw.

“Living in Rosyth made it easier and the big thing for me is how friendly everyone is. There’s no politics or cliques within the club and we make a real effort to make sure that everyone has the same goal.

“We have a squad of 40 at the most but we have got people who are shift workers so sometimes it can be a struggle. We need 22 for a squad on a matchday but work has to come first so often we are without some key players. But we’ve got the second half of the season coming up and that will take us up to around April so we will see how we go.” Anyone interested in finding out more about how to get involved with Fife Southern should attend one of the club’s training nights at 7pm on Tuesdays or Thursdays at Harley Street, or visit http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/fifesouthernrfc.