Swan gives Sunday best for league

The organisation's Premier and First Divisions will bear the name of Lothian & Burgh Plumbing for the new season.

However, Jamie Swan, the company owner, went one step further by forking out a four-figure sum to endorse both the league and one of its teams, Lothian Star, where he plays at centre-half.

Mr Swan, 22, from Prestonpans, turned out for Haddington Athletic's under-21 outfit last season and took the opportunity to sponsor his new team as his nine-month old business grows.

"I want people to recognise the name so eventually more people call and I can get more work." Combining his day job with playing responsibilities can prove problematic for the defender, though.

"When you see some of the challenges on a Sunday, you think, I can't afford to be off work if I got injured. So, this season, I'll not be playing every week."

Star manager Jason Sunshine, 39, has run the club for ten years and wife Andrena, acts as the secretary. The new sponsorship deal is not the only boost to the club since the end of last season, as Star won promotion from the First Division as champions and will now compete in the Premier, and Mr Sunshine is optimistic about the new campaign: "The sponsorship deal gives us a new set of strips and the club runs itself otherwise. We run a bonus ball lottery game so that covers other costs,"he said. "New players have come in and we've retained all the boys from last year apart from two. We're expecting to challenge for the title and the cups after winning the First Division and League Cup last year."