Newtonmore boss says stop-start final third of season cost points
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As the year draws to an end, Newtonmore co-manager Norman MacArthur has taken time out to reflect on the 2023 shinty season.
It was a year during which the ‘More senior side again finished third in shinty’s top flight but the men from the Eilan did not get the cup runs they were looking for.
The Blue and Whites were early league leaders but ended up in a position where they struggled to get a run of fixtures together, particularly during the final third of the season.
MacArthur said: “It was a league campaign that lacked continuity and that killed us.
“The league fixtures were very stop-start but that said, we didn’t help ourselves by going out of the cups and continually dropping silly points.
“There were games against Lovat and Skye, both at the Eilan, where we definitely didn’t deserve to lose, and you can’t drop points under these circumstances if you want to win the league.
“That said, we were probably lucky to get the points against Caberfeidh so maybe there is a bit of swings and roundabouts.
“Apart from Kingussie, we beat all the top teams at one point or another and Kyles made a strong finish to pip us to second place.”
Building up the size of the first team squad was a priority and this is an area MacArthur is pleased about.
He said: “In terms of building the squad, that went well and we’ve made progress on that front.
“We were able to introduce more guys into the senior squad.
“We had a few players who were pushed straight into the first team when spending a bit more time playing for the seconds would have benefited them.
“They came to terms with playing first team shinty as they season went on but others like Ritchie Irvine have really pushed on because he got that experience with the second team first.
“Ritchie came in towards the end of the season and hasn’t looked out of place.”
MacArthur acknowledges that it is crucial the Blue and Whites’ keep the conveyor belt of young talent moving and he feels the club’s second team has the best man for the job.
He said: “The second team will be strong again next season and we have a lot of youth players coming through.
“Peter (Ross) does a fantastic job with the second team.
“I can’t compliment him enough for what he does for the club.
“He is simply very good at bringing the players through and is particularly good with the younger players which is obviously very important.”
As he turned his attention to the 2023 cup tournaments, MacArthur was not quite so upbeat.
He said: “Going out of the cup competitions early was a disaster.
“I’ve always said the Camanachd Cup should have returned to an open draw after Covid but it still seems to be regionalised during the early stages.”
Thoughts have already turned to next season.
MacArthur observed: “The boys are keeping themselves ticking over and training starts again in earnest just after New Year.
“We are very lucky to have Lesley (McKenna) and Noel (Baxter), when he is available, leading the training and the boys enjoy it which helps.
“We have a couple of pre-season games lined up against Glasgow Mid Argyll and then Skye and we’ll look to add another.”
It will not be long until the action is under way once more.
