Irvine Victoria manager Brian McLuckie says the club can be a pathway for young players to progress to a higher level.

The Vic’s recently lost club captain Daniel Martins to Watra Białka Tatrzańska who play in Liga IV, which is the fifth tier of Polish football.

The 20-year-old defender went out in trial in Poland in February after the West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) was suspended the previous month due to COVID-19 restrictions. He trialled at another Polish side, Cosmos Nowotaniec, before eventually signing at Watr.

McLuckie said: “We have always said that we would welcome our players to play at a higher level, it is a pathway that we are looking to provide to the players.

“Our ambition is to try and make the Vic’s better, but we would rather do that with young players coming through that are progressing and if they move on then so be it.

“I am fully expecting with some of the squad that we have got this year that two or three of them will move to WoSFL Premier Division sides the year after.

“If they do not, then we are not doing our job properly. “

Despite the loss of Martins, McLuckie says the squad is shaping up ahead of next season, with most players from last season signing on to stay Victoria Park.

He added: “All of last year’s squad have committed to resign, so we do not need too many players on top of that because we had 20 odd players last season. We will probably start off with an 18-man squad, whittle it down and maybe try and add a couple of players. “

McLuckie has also been preparing a pre-season around COVID-19 restrictions.

He said: “We have had a couple of training sessions, not too many because we are obviously conscious of the COVID-19 rules and regulations. We will start from this week training on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

“We also have a few friendlies organised as well, we are playing Johnstone Burgh, Largs Thistle, Kilwinning Rangers, Maryhill, Saltcoats Victoria. We also are just awaiting confirmation of a couple of other teams, so plenty of games.”