Welcome Gaffer, a decent start to our league campaign sees us head the table as the teams prepare for the Evolution Cup group games.

"Aye, after our usual dodgy opening game, I can't complain."

Well, The Bears seem happy enough which is always a good thing! After an inactive pre-season in the transfer market you suddenly went into transfer overdrive with a couple of new arrivals and three departures. You certainly surprised many of The Bears, myself amongst them. What was your thinking behind all that, Gaffer?

"Well, two things. Firstly I wanted to reduce the average age of the squad and secondly, a good young 'Leader' is always a great addition to any squad. The opportunity arose to sign Lorenzo so I grabbed it with both hands! Big Amo is a leader through and through and should be a great servant to the club over the next four or five seasons. Bally not only helped to reduce the average age of our defence but also made a positive contribution to our T11. Once Amo and Bally had signed, it was obvious that some players would really struggle to gain a place in our starting line-up so it made sense that they moved on. I'd like to thank Nige and Goughie for their services to the club and I hope they do well at their new teams."

Yes indeed, Gaffer. It's good to have Big Amo back at the club. A few eyebrows were raised that you let young Davie Weir go.

"That was a difficult one, but I couldn't see both him and Stuart Munro playing this season. An offer came in first for Davie so he went, and besides, having spent a lot on Amo I needed to recoup some cash!"

Too true, Gaffer. Looking ahead to our Evolution Cup group games, we appear to have been drawn in a very competitive group.

"Aye, there will be some tough games ahead. FC Glasgow and Leicester always give us a hard game. Asteria and Fulham have started the season well, and I hate playing Fulham. It doesn't seem to matter how much of a possession advantage we generate against them, we struggle to beat them."

Yes, I remember that infamous 2-2 draw from a few seasons back when they stalled but still scored twice from virtually no possession!

"Aye, that still rankles, but it shows that nothing is certain in this game. We'll have to be at our best to qualify."

Well, thanks for your insight once again, Gaffer. Best of luck in the qualifiers.

Till next time................Cheer the team on to qualification, Bears!