The new shop/office at 81D Main Street, Bainsford will be open between 10am and 1pm on Sunday to give supporters the chance to see the work in progress.

People will be able to drop off completed season ticket application forms or pick one up if they do not have one already.

“The project is by no means near completion yet,” said chairman Tony Ford. “But we are keen to give people the opportunity to see what we have done so far and discuss what we are planning to do in the future.

“We are hoping the pace of work will accelerate in the next couple of weeks and it will not be too long before we can announce an official opening date,” he said.

For just £100 plus VAT  you could be the official kit sponsor of any signed player for the forthcoming season.

In return, you can receive a jersey signed by the player you have chosen, a day in the boardroom at a Shire game at Ochilview and your name on the player sponsorship page in the match programmme and on that player’s profile page on the official website.

This season the club will have three playing kits giving you three chances at sponsoring your favourite Shire player.

To sign your very own Shire player call Tony on 07933 956966 or e-mail the club at fceaststirlingshire@gmail.com . Payment can be made by cheque, BACS  or by credit/debit card.

Both players have put their signatures to new contracts which will keep them at the Shire until May 2013. The addition of Jamie now means all of the five players from last season offered new terms by coach John Coughlin have agreed to stay.

Rhys joined Shire on a three month loan in January from Second Division Airdrie United and enjoyed a successful spell with the club, making the right-back position his own.

He was released by the Lanarkshire side shortly after his return and since then has been looking to get back into senior football.

“Rhys really seemed to love his time with us last season,” said John. “The fans took to him and he became a popular guy in the dressing room as well. He showed enough in the games he played for us to indicate that he would be a decent addition and I am glad he has decided to come back.

“Jamie took his time to break into the team but played well when he got his chance. He has the makings of a really good player who can cover in a number of different positions and that could be important over the course of the next year.”

The coach will now take a bit more time to make further additions to his squad after a flurry of activity over the last week. He has made inroads into filling some positions but the pace of signing activity will slow.

“We had to get a core group in place quickly and we have done that,” he said. “There are some players who are targets for us and we will be speaking to them soon and we will also be looking at what is available and seeing if any players currently looking for clubs fit our bill.”

The steps are easy enough. Just go to the Shire Store section on the website and click on the relevant price; £120 for adult, £40 for concession or £10 for under-16. You pay via Paypal and we have an instant order with no waiting for the post. You don’t have to send us money and there’s less risk of your cheque going missing.

Then just download the application form on this page. Fill in the details and either return it to us via e-mail at fceaststirlingshire@gmail.com or send it in the post to 202 Stirling Road, Larbert, FK5 3NJ. And remember, only send the form. If you buy online there’s no need to send us money.

The application form is downloadable by clicking on the link below.

201213seasonapplication

The 26 year-old was released by the Shielfield club after six seasons and more than 200 first team appearances, and coach John Coughlin wasted no time in persuading the versatile player to be part of his plans.

The coach has also signed Vale Of Leithen centre-half Richard Miller on a one year deal and agreement has also been reached with Michael Hunter, who was on a season-long loan from Stenhousemuir last season, to join on a permanent contract.

Scott Maxwell completed a busy day of signing by penning a further one year contract with the club, where he enjoyed a successful first season in 2011/12.

The coach was content with the outcome of a frenetic bout of activity as he tries to mould a squad for the forthcoming campaign.

“Getting a player of David Greenhill’s ability and experience is a big thing for us,” said John. “I have stated right from the outset that we have to do everything we can to replace those who are leaving with better quality players and I think we are going down the right path with that particular signing.

“I have worked with David before so I know what he is capable of and we are getting a quality player.”

Central defender Miller has agreed to join Shire once his season in the East of Scotland League has finished and the 22 year-old is clearly relishing the opportunity to step up to the SFL.

“He is a big lad who will not get easily knocked about and he can head the ball for fun. When you look at last season we were found wanting too often by a real lack of physical strength in the centre of defence and that is something we hope Richard will add,” said John.

“We all know what Michael Hunter and Maxi bring to the team and it is great to have them back for another season as well,” he said.

The signing activity is likely to continue over the next day or two, with the coach revealing that two more familiar faces have agreed verbally to sign new contracts. Jamie Benton has accepted the new deal offered to him in principle, and Rhys Devlin, on loan last season from Airdrie United, agreed a deal too.

“Rhys left us and was released by Airdrie United not long afterwards,” said John. “He has gone back into the amateur ranks but he was keen to jump back up to our level. I think he really enjoyed his three months with us last season and that has counted in our favour when we made the proposal to him.”

Kyle Gillespie, Steven Tart and goalie Craig Gordon have all put pen to paper on deals that will allow them to remain at the club until May 2013. The three all made their debuts for the first team in the last few weeks of the season.

Kyle and Steven stepped up during an injury and suspension crisis in April and were not found wanting while Craig has been back-up keeper for the first team on a few occasions.

“I was certainly impressed with Kyle and Steven when they came into the squad,” said coach John  Coughlin. “Their inclusion was more out of necessity but they have shown enough to merit being kept on.

“We will monitor their development carefully. Kyle in particular made a strong impression and seemed comfortable in a number of different positions. He will be too old for the under-19′s next season but there are other ways we can bring him on and we will certainly be keen to see him keep up the progress he has been making,” said the coach.

Also putting pen to paper was keeper Grant Hay, who made his league debut in the last game of the season at Peterhead. Their signing follows that of defender Steven Jackson earlier in the day.

The first three to sign are expected to be followed by a number of more in the next few days.

“I am delighted Kevin has decided to stay for another year,” said Shire coach John Coughlin. “He has led by example over the last season and got better as the season went along. It seemed to me that he felt he had established himself at this level just as we were running out of games.

“Some of his performances in the last few games were great and that bodes well for next season,” he said.

Teenage keeper Grant had to play second fiddle to Calum Antell all season long but finally got his chance as the campaign came to a conclusion at Peterhead. The coach reckons Grant has a bit of developing to do yet but has shown great promise.

“Grant has been patient playing in the under-19′s and sitting on the bench in first team matches,” he said. “The good thing is that time is very much on his side and we will keep on working with him to make him a better player,” said John.

The Denny-based central defender put pen to paper on Moday afternoon after agreeing terms with the club that will keep him a Shire player until at least May 2013.

Steven was one of only five of last season’s signed players who were offered new deals.

“This is very good news for us,” said coach John Coughlin. “Steven is a very good young footballer and his development will benefit from staying with us for another season.

“He has all the basic atttributes to go further in the game but he is still only 18 years of age and he will learn a lot more by playing regularly with the Shire next season.”

The coach is hoping to re-sign all the players he has made offers to and will be talking to others about coming to the club next season.

The Five who have been sent offers are : Jamie Benton, Grant Hay, Steven Jackson, Scott Maxwell and Kevin Turner.

In addition the coach has offered pre-season training facilities to Jamie Glasgow and Alex Lurinsky.

A number of last season’s squad have been released by the club and will become free agents after 15th May.

Those players are : David Cane, Joe Dingwall, Ryan Frances, Scott Fulton, Jordyn Sheerin, Andy Stirling and Fraser Team.

The club would like to thank all of the players being freed for the service they have offered The Shire.

There will be a re-match with our Scottish Cup opponents over the last couple of seasons, Buckie Thistle, on Saturday 14th July at Victoria Park, while there will also be a match against Rothes on the Friday evening.

The encounter with Buckie Thistle was born out of the meeting in the Cup in October of last year, when Shire required a replay to beat the then-reigning Highland League champions.

“Many Shire fans said the day out at Buckie was the highlight of the season,” said Shire chairman Tony Ford. “Of course part of that was the sheer excitement of winning a match which we started as underdogs.

“But so many people who made the journey to Victoria Park that day had great tales to tell and the generosity and good sportsmanship displayed by the Buckie folk was part of that too. We are very much looking forward to meeting up with the people there again.”

A pre-season weekend away not only provides coach John Coughlin with two decent matches it is also a chance for the players, some of whom will be new to the club, to get together.

“The matches are one thing and they will be a key exercise in the build-up for the new season,” said John. “But we also want there to be a social aspect to it for the players as well. It will be good for them to spend time with each other and get to know each other better.”

Arrangements for the matches are still being finalised with kick-off times still be to confirmed although these will be communicated in due course.