Cove Rangers chairman Keith Moorhouse says tomorrow will be a proud and emotional day as the club play their first Scottish League match.
The Granite City outfit welcome Edinburgh City to the Balmoral Stadium for their debut game in League Two.
After years of striving to reach the SPFL the Highland League champions gained promotion last season.
For Moorhouse and many others it was the culmination of a long journey and the Cove chief is keen to savour tomorrow’s opening day.
He said: “It will be an emotional moment for a lot of people when the team run out.
“It’s the day we’ve been aiming to have for the last 10 years – if not more.
“So seeing it actually happen in real life will be a proud day.
“We need to enjoy the day and whatever happens we’ll enjoy it.”
Moorhouse joined Cove 20 years ago and reflecting on his time with the club and the journey to the SPFL, the Balmoral Stadium supremo paid tribute to the people past and present who have helped Cove reach this point.
He added: “When I joined the club I never really thought about, or put a time limit on, how long I would be with the club.
“Cove is the kind of club where it is made up by the people.
“Once you get involved in it, it gets a hold of you and it becomes a big part of your life.
“It’s been a huge part of my life, so from that point of view did I expect to be here 20 years? Probably yes.
“After a few years being involved it becomes a part of you and it’s difficult for you to let that go because of the characters we’ve got and had at the club over the years.
“It’s always been a place that I’ve felt positive about and always felt good about.
“Even through difficult times there’s always been light at the end of the tunnel and that’s all down to the people.
“I salute every person for what they’ve done in helping us get to where we are.
“It’s not about me, it’s about all the people at the club.
“There are countless people who have helped us get here, far too many to mention.
“I hope they look at tomorrow with satisfaction and pride for the part they played in the journey to get the club to where it is.
“At the end of the day it’s all about the club – it’s not about me.
“I happen to be the person who has the responsibility of driving the club forward and making the right decisions.
“Some decisions will be unpopular, but that’s life and I’ll stand and fall by the decisions I make.
“There’s lots of people who won’t be there on Saturday that should take a huge amount of satisfaction from what’s been achieved.”
Cove start their maiden SPFL campaign with new manager Paul Hartley in charge and former boss John Sheran as director of football.
Despite a number of injuries they have shown promise in the Betfred League Cup with a win over Raith Rovers, a draw against Dundee and running Inverness Caley Thistle and Peterhead close.
Moorhouse said: “The recent performances probably more than the results have given us a vision of what the future could look like from a team perspective.
“But it’s early days, we’ve only played four competitive games and we’ve always said the Betfred Cup would be part of pre-season.
“Paul has never had a full strength squad to choose from.
“At the same time we’ve been looking to bring in players and we’ve managed to get (Daniel) Higgins, (Declan) Glass, (Chris) Antoniazzi and (John) Robertson and we’re pleased with that.
“It’s about the management team and director of football looking at what it’s going to take to make us successful this season.
“We’re not getting carried away because stuff about us being favourites to win the league is nonsense.
“We take that with a pinch of salt and we know we’ve got a lot of work to do to prove we’re worthy of staying in this league.”