GOOD times have come along rarely in the history of Kello Rovers but something special is now happening at the remote Junior outpost.

A glance at the Ayrshire District League table shows the Kirkconnell-based outfit sitting third in the table and looking like they will be one of the leading promotion contenders.

It is changed days indeed for a club who have finished sixth and with 34 points to their name in each of the last two seasons yet have already accumulated 25 points from 11 games this time out.

This turnaround in fortunes has been astonishing, and just as remarkable is the fact their team manager Ross Wilson hails from the Giffnock area in Glasgow and thinks nothing of regularly making a 90-mile round trip to Nithsdale Park along with East Kilbride-based No 2 John Quinn.

Barrhead born and raised, Ross confesses to not having much of a Junior grounding with his playing days confined to amateur sides such as St Peters, Barrhead Arthurlie and Neilston Juniors Under 21s, where his displays earned a far from meteoric rise to the ranks of Saltcoats Vics.

The realisation that a playing career was never going to be his vocation led to Ross throwing all his eggs into coaching and his attaining B, Youth, and A licences in quick succession earned him the opportunity to work with the youngsters at Queens Park under youth football guru David McCallum.

A move to East Kilbride as assistant to legendary boss Billy Ogilvie followed before Ross left to work as a coach under Craig Young and Ally Graham at Broomhill SC.

“Working at BSC gave me the confidence to go out on my own and I applied for several Junior manager posts, most notably Blantyre Vics and Camelon, where I had been recommended by Gus MacPherson, but to no avail,” the 27-year-old said.

“It was patently obvious that being a relative nobody was not helping my cause and my determination to put my own stamp on a club resulted in me applying for the Kello Rovers job when it was advertised last summer.

“I know it’s a long way but that is one of the sacrifices to be made to make your name on the Junior scene and the move has worked out far better than John or I could ever have imagined when we first walked through the door.

“Very early on we realised that changes were going to be needed on the playing front so we recruited well thanks to persuading guys from Glasgow to give it a go, such as Ross Costello, Vinny Newlands, ex-Arthurlie midfielder Graham Ramage as well as three youngsters from East Kilbride – Greg Miller, Jack Anderson and John’s own son Jordan – who have all looked the part.

“But no more so than local Kello players Martin Shaw, a great leader on the pitch, and our centre-back Liam Greig who has been attracting the attention of bigger Junior clubs and looks to have a great future in the game.”

The previous Kello boss, Gary Wilson, is still there in a club official capacity and Ross feels his presence has helped in getting a fresh approach accepted.

“Little things like providing tracksuits and towels for the players have been an outstanding help in evolving a more professional ethos and I cannot speak highly enough about how the guys have subsequently bought into our ideas.

“Getting up to the Super First Division would be a great achievement for everyone associated with Kello Rovers and we’ll have a better idea of where we stand after the next couple of games.”