STEVIE Wilson insists it is the fans he feels for ahead of the new West of Scotland Football League season.

Ardrossan Winton Rovers will enter Conference C as part of the new set-up – with no other teams from Ayrshire playing in the division.

The closest rivals Winton will have to look forward to playing are Neilston – with just a 20-mile journey involved.

The additional travelling doesn’t bother Wilson as he lives in Paisley, but he admits that for sections of the support, it will throw up some challenges.

He told the Herald: “It’s not so much a pain for me as I’ve lived in Glasgow all my days but played football in Ayrshire.

“But I do feel really sorry for the supporters. The older generation who are going to have to spend most of their Saturday away the full day when probably they would rather stay local.

“The bus that carries the committee and then equipment, that would be leaving at around 11am on a Saturday with the fans on it arriving for a 2pm kick-off.

“Then by the time the place is packed up and they get down the road, it’s a full shift out of the house on a Saturday – for some that is not as appealing.

“I think some fans, from what I’ve gathered, would rather there was more of a local interest like we’ve been used to.

“However, I do know some are excited about it as they’ll get to go to new places. I get both sides of the argument.”

With travelling issues aside, Wilson remains clear on seeing the positive side of the new league format.

After agonisingly missing out on the title in the old format due to the league being called, he insists Winton will bounce back – with one ultimate goal in mind.

He said: “In general, it’s an exciting time going into this new league set-up and we’re really looking forward to it.

“We’re looking at it as, last season we were two leagues away from the top division and now, we’re only one league away. We know to get there we’ll have to win the division, which will be very tough, but we’ll give it a good shot.”