Getting to Know – Broxburn Athletic
Jul 5, 2024
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by
Matt Cooke
in
‘Getting to Know’
Prior to last season, we ran a really popular series of ‘Getting to Know’ taking a closer look at several of our lesser known non league clubs. So, we thought why not bring this back for a Series Two, and we started off last week with a look at Bourne Town (article can be found
here). This week though we’re excited to be taking our first ever trip to Scotland, and Broxburn Athletic, a club I’ve really enjoyed getting to know, and I’m sure you will too.
Formed in 1947, as you can see from their excellent club badge, which also bares the emblem of their nickname ‘The Badgers’, Broxburn are based in West Lothian, at their home ground of Albyn Park. I subsequently discovered that the name Broxburn is taken from the Gaelic work ‘Brock’, which means Badger. They have enjoyed very recent success in winning the East of Scotland Premier League and this season take their rightful place in the Scottish Lowland League, step five of the Scottish football pyramid. Let’s see what else we find out….
Broxburn Athletic players and supports celebrate after gaining promotion to the Scottish Lowland League.
Firstly, congratulations on your recent success, not only winning the East of Scotland Premier Division title, but then your convincing playoff win over Dalbeattie Star to gain promotion to the Scottish Lowland League. Please sum up your thoughts on how the season went and what this means to the club and the local community to make this step up the Scottish football pyramid?
“It was great campaign both on and off the park, we came into the campaign knowing that significant improvement was needed from the season before when we finished in 9th place and it was clear from the first match (and pre-season) that it was a different campaign ahead. For the club, the success is a huge step, there has been belief for a while that the Lowland League is one we can compete well in and we feel we’ve proven that with results we have had in various cup competitions over previous years. We started the campaign off in great form winning 10 of our first 11 matches, moving to the top of the table in early September and we never left that spot! We had good runs in cup competitions as well, albeit exiting them in tough situations, particularly the Scottish Cup and League Cup. For the community we take the turnouts we’ve seen this campaign as a positive reflection on how they’ve responded to us, over 300 on average and our largest home crowd of recent years for the Scottish Cup match against Buckie Thistle where the support was fantastic.”
East of Scotland League champions, Broxburn Athletic.
For those who have not heard of Broxburn Athletic before, or know very little, please can you give us a brief history of the club? When and how they were formed, players that have gone on to greater things, or any club successes along the way.
“There have been a number of teams in Broxburn through the long history of the town, but Broxburn Athletic were re-formed post war in 1947, with Albyn Park as our base ever since. Playing in the East Region leagues of the Junior set-up then moving to the senior football pyramid in 2018. The 50s and 70s proved fruitful for the club in terms of honours with a number of league and cup wins but these have been rarer in recent years with East of Scotland Conference win and last seasons league win the main two recent successes but we’ve gone without a cup lift since ’88.”
Please can you tell us the biggest day-to-day challenges a club the size of Broxburn Athletic face?
“The logistics of matchday are probably our most challenging but we handle it well. In some ways we are a victim of our own successes, with very busy matchday hospitality on top of the various roles needed to operate the club on a Saturday afternoon meaning we rely on so many volunteers to give up their time for the club as we also bring in between 200 and 1,200 people through the gate like we did this season.”
So, next season is an exciting year, with Broxburn Athletic competing at tier 5 in Scotland, what are you and the club looking forward to the most for this upcoming year?
“A new league brings a lot of intrigue, there are a number of familiar teams in the Lowland League however there are also a number of new teams for us to face on a regular competitive basis and also the likes of Berwick Rangers, Cowdenbeath and Albion Rovers now having made the step down from the SPFL. New teams mean new grounds for our supporters to visit and also new people to host at the Albyn and we always look forward to that.”
What’s the aim for next season? Is it just to find your feet at this level and consolidate, or are you setting your sights higher?
“As Pitts said in a previous interview, we’re not here to make up the numbers this season, we’re in the league for a reason and we’re here to compete. The quality overall is obviously a step up from what we experienced last season but we’ve also proven that we can take on the teams in tier 5 and take away a result.”
How’s the squad looking? Have you managed to retain most from last season, or is it more of a new look squad?
“We’ve retained a really good number of players from last season, but there are definitely a few additions that we’ll make to strengthen the squad and give us the depth we need to compete in the Lowland League, we played periods of the season making-do in some positions that we’ll hopefully shore up in the close season.”
Please can you tell us a little of the ground that you play in? Are improvements needed due to the promotion?
“We don’t need any improvements in the Lowland League as we hold the appropriate licensing requirements but there are ideas in the pipeline. We’re fortunate that the facility was overhauled almost 15 years ago meaning we have a modern clubhouse with really good facilities that we can make the most of on matchdays. Next step will be a seated enclosure at the ground but it’s a significant financial move so it’s not a quick step.”
An aerial view of Albyn Park.
Please tell us more about your role within the club.
“I take on quite a few roles as is pretty common in clubs at this level. I joined the club as, and my main roles is, Club Chaplain appointed through Sports Chaplaincy Scotland. In addition to that role I help out in training sessions, help in various place on matchdays and run the clubs social media pages as well as creating content on matchdays alongside Robbie. A bit of everything!”
Andrew, I really appreciate your time to speak with us, as I know that this is a busy time of year for you. Best of luck in your Lowland League campaign and the season in general, we very much look forward to seeing how you get on.
So that’s our first foray into getting to know a Scottish non league club, hopefully the first of many. I must admit though, for me personally, I’ve really enjoyed learning some more about Broxburn Athletic as it seems like a wonderful club, and it’s a shame of the distance as I’d really like to visit. Hopefully one day soon I can make that happen.
Keep an eye out next week for our next instalment, as we’re off to Wales. Until then, thanks for reading….
#nonleague #nonleaguescotland #scottishfootball #broxburn #broxburnathletic #lowlandleague
