Onwards and upwards for Whitecraigs is John Shaw's aim

Whitecraigs coach John Shaw is not resting on his laurels after leading the club into Premier Two for next season, with the former Glasgow player believing there is still a lot more to come from his ever-improving squad.

Ten days ago the West Lodge side secured the Premier Three title with a 30-16 home win over second-placed Hamilton and they have now been promoted four years in a row.

Former coach Jim Henderson started the upward curve by getting Whitecraigs out of the National Leagues and, last summer, Shaw was brought on board to keep the success going.

He said: "When I was approached by the club to get involved prior to this season I did a lot of research on the players and I sat down with Jim Henderson to make sure that Whitecraigs' ambitions matched my own.

"What I found was a very ambitious club who want to get to the top and this season it has been great to see the players grow in stature and win the league. I still think they have some way to go to fulfil their full potential and that excites me as we look ahead to next term."

Shaw, who also notably played for West of Scotland and Currie, served his coaching apprenticeship at Waysiders/Drumpellier and helped them to gain three promotions in four seasons between 2006 and 2010.

He has been assisted this season by former Ayr centre Stewart Magorian, who knows a thing or two about success, having been part of the Millbrae club's Premier One-winning squad in 2009.

Before breaking a bone in his arm in March, Magorian also played throughout the campaign and Shaw said: "Stewart has been a great addition. He has helped me and we are on the same wavelength in terms of our coaching while, on the pitch, he has been a steadying influence."

Of course no club can function with a first XV alone and Whitecraigs development officer Alastair Chalmers is working hard to make sure the current success filters down to the youngsters in the local area.

He said: "This season we have been running an under-18 team in conjuncture with Paisley, while the under-15 team has been pretty strong and it helps with continuity when first XV players such as Stuart Pollock and Jamie Christine come down and help to coach these players.

"With the first XV having had some success in the last few years it has got a lot of local youngsters interested in rugby, while we have also set up a nippers rugby programme for those aged 3 to 4 to try to get kids enjoying the sport at a very early age.Hopefully, the work we are doing now will assure that the numbers of local players coming through the ranks at Whitecraigs continues to be healthy in the coming years."

Whitecraigs have two matches left in Premier Three, both at home, against Dunfermline and Haddington on April 16 and 23 respectively before their thoughts will shift to competing in Premier Two next term under Shaw's watchful eye.