Bo'ness United bid to exit junior football

The Newtown Park club’s manager Allan McGonigal hopes his team will join Kelty Hearts and Bonnyrigg Rose in making an imminent switch which could lead to clubs increasing their turnover by hundreds of thousands of pounds via a potential place in the William Hill Scottish Cup and even gaining direct promotion to the senior ranks.

McGonigal said: “The Lowland League seems to be getting more and more attractive.

“We are the best supported club in junior football. It would be a crying shame if we didn’t get in.

“We don’t have a benefactor so we need to generate more money to compete with the top teams.”

Bo’ness’s East Superleague rivals Kelty – a whopping 18 points clear at the top of the table – are the driving force behind the ambitious plan and have reportedly already paid their £2000 Lowland League application fee.

Bo’ness, Kelty and Bonnyrigg have already contacted SFA and Scottish Junior FA officials to inquire about joining the Ferrari Packaging Lowland League. The junior big guns are now awaiting the outcome of discussions between SFA chief executive Stewart Regan and junior secretary Tom Johnston who will meet on Tuesday.

Allan said adding top junior clubs to the Lowland League would be beneficial as teams in the bottom half of the 16-team league are regularly beaten heavily.

“Football is changing and we want to be a part of it,” Allan said. “Staying in the juniors is not an option for us.”