INVERKEITHING Hillfield Swifts manager Grant Brough and his coaching team have committed to leading the club into next season.

The East of Scotland League, Premier Division outfit said on Saturday that they were "delighted" that Brough and his backroom team of ex-Pars and Cowdenbeath player, Pat Scullion, Mark Leslie, Tam Graham and goalkeeping coach Jamie Stephen would extend their stay at Ballast Bank, commenting that they "have been a real credit to the Swifts since coming on board and continue to drive improvements on and off the pitch".

Brough, who took over in 2019 after then co-manager, Lee Duffy, departed the club, led the Swifts to promotion last season in just their second season fielding a senior side.

They made the step up after finishing as runners-up in Conference B of the First Division on a points per game basis, after the season was brought to an early conclusion due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Although they have found the current campaign tough so far – the Swifts are second-bottom of the table with only one win from 10 games – Brough is confident the club are progressing quicker than expected.

Brough said: "When you think, two years ago, the club was only formed and the trajectory of where we are, opposed to probably where they (the club's committee) anticipated us to be, is far higher than what anybody could've thought, being in that Premier League this season.

"It's about building blocks constantly, getting that wee bit better, and taking it from there. Giving that wee bit of commitment just gives that reassurance to players and stuff like that.

"The coaches I've got are second to none. I spoke to them and said they've asked us for the commitment for next year, and everybody was like, aye, 100 per cent."

One of those, Leslie, works for the Scottish FA as a performance analyst, and his job means that he is involved with the men's national side, who are preparing to compete at the European Championships this summer.

"He's fantastic," Brough continued. "He came in as a player last season but he suffered from an injury. We got him into the coaching and he's now fully in the role as a coach.

"We've obviously added Pat, who's got 17-18 years experience of playing SPFL football. His knowledge of the game's fantastic, and Tam's a first-class coach as well. Then, obviously, we've got Jamie the keeper coach.

"I said to the chairman and the vice-chairman that I actually couldn't get a better coaching team. The guys are first class.

"It's been really enjoyable. It's a good family club and the ethos of the club, about bringing the young players through, is a great challenge.

"But, in the same breath, you need the quality at the younger age groups and we've got some really good young players coming through the system."