How improved fitness levels could prove key to Bellshill Athletic's success as star lays out aspirations

PJ O’Donnell admits it’s difficult to put his finger on exactly why Bellshill Athletic finished last season with a flourish under the club’s new management team - but reckons improved fitness levels had a lot to do with it.

The Castlemilk-born midfielder recognises their ninth-placed finishing position last term could have been a whole lot higher had the North Lanarkshire outfit not got off to such a sluggish start to the campaign.

That’s in the past now. O’Donnell is looking forward to the future under boss Johnny Fallon and his new coaching staff. And while promotion from the West of Scotland Second Division is the main objective, the 28-year-old also has also set other goals he wants to achieve.

“We finished last season very strongly, and I think a lot of that was to do with Johnny coming in and improving the fitness levels,” O’Donnell told GlasgowWorld when asked for his reflections on last season. “He’s pushing the boys every day in training, making sure we’re doing the right things.

“For example, when we’re practicing our finishing drills, he’s on the side-lines making sure that you’re converting them and it then translates on to the park. I think that was one of our biggest problems last season, we were creating plenty of chances but not taking them.

“We worked on a few different things and eventually started to take our chances when we were getting them. We managed to kill games off a bit more than what we were doing at the start of the season.

“So, yeah, I think fitness has had a lot to do with it. At the end of the day, if you're fit enough then you’ll be able to get about park better and you can really start to play your best football.

“It’s difficult to say exactly what the biggest changes have been under Johnny, but maybe it was the right time for Dean (Muir) and Neely (Rowatt) to leave, I don’t know. But definitely, there’s been more of an emphasis on fitness. That’s been a really big thing.”

The former Lanark United, Blantyre Victoria and Shotts Bon Accord ace is preparing for his second season at Bellshill after joining the club last summer.

Earlier this week, O’Donnell agreed a two-year contract extension until 2027 and is hopeful of tasting some silverware this term after outlining his ambitions and identifying aspects of his game he is determined to improve on during the forthcoming campaign.

O’Donnell admitted: “With the players we’ve added over the summer, the quality of (Andy) Duffy coming from the Premier Division and (Graham) Gracie, who scored a lot of goals in this division last season, yes, 100% we should be looking to go and challenge for the league rather than just compete and be happy to finish 8th or 7th and get promoted that way.

“I think with the squad we’ve got now, that has to be the main aim.

“Personally, I want to add more goals to my game. I started hitting a wee bit of form towards the end of last season and finished up on eight. I didn't want the season to end, in all honesty. But I want to get at least double figures this season. That’s something I’ll be working on myself.”

Given his impressive end-of-season form, it’s no surprise that O’Donnell is hungrier than ever to emulate his numbers from last term. Asked about his time at the Rockburn so far, he commented: “It’s been really, really good. When I first came in, Neely and Deano were in charge. Their visions for the club looking forward and what was happening on and off the park was a big selling point for me.

“Obviously, we didn’t get off to the best start last year, but our form improved quite a bit after Johnny and his staff came in.

“We’ve been back in for training for a few weeks now and I thought my legs would’ve felt a lot worse at this stage, but I managed to keep myself ticking over a wee bit during the break.

“We had a boy, Jack, a personal trainer who was sending us various running drills and things like that into the group chat and the kind of times that we should be looking to set. It wasn’t my favourite, that’s for sure! But hopefully it will stand us in good stead over the rest of pre-season.”