Kilbride Thistle Manager Sean Kenney says he cannot wait to make St Matthew’s a football hotspot again after the club announced they would be moving into the area next season.

Despite amateur football being suspended currently Thistle are hard at work off the park as they aim to get a side accepted into the West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) next season.

One of their major priorities was to ensure they had a home ground with adequate facilities to meet league requirements.

After months of talks with KA Leisure they have finally managed to secure a venue at St Matthew’s Academy in the area that North Ayrshire Athletics Club trains on.

Speaking to the Herald, Kenney said: “It has been confirmed that we can play out of St Matthew’s next season in the park we were looking at.

“It will be just about touching it up and getting it up to the standard for the new league now.

“We want to make St Matthew’s as lively and exciting as it can be. Hopefully we can get it busy again on a Saturday afternoon.”

Joining the potential new WoSFL side at St Matthew’s is their new amateur side, Tass Thistle , who are being absorbed by Kilbride Thistle.

Kenney says the overlapping connections between the two sides meant it was a decision that just made sense, adding: “They will be playing as Kilbride Thistle Amateurs next season and the Tass Thistle’s 2004s will be coming in and joining the development league as Kilbride Thistle Development Squad.

“I always had an interest in Tass because their 2004s manager Ryan Docherty played for me and I kept my eye on him and eventually I went in coaching alongside him there.

“They have got a lot of my ex-players there too, so there’s always been a lot of ties between the two clubs.”

Tass will retain their current players and managers in the new set up and continue to play in the second division of the Ayrshire Amateur Football Association. Kenney says he hopes he can build the side back up to the first division where Kilbride Thistle play.