Blantyre Victoria Football Club, also known as Blantyre Vics, are a Scottish association football club based in the town of Blantyre, South Lanarkshire. Formed in 1889, they play at KG Stadium (traditionally known as Castle Park). They currently compete in the West of Scotland Football League First Division in the seventh tier of the Scottish football league system. Historically, they shared a healthy rivalry with Blantyre Celtic who played nearby at Craighead Park, until Celtic were dissolved in 1992. The team have been managed since June 2016 by former Alloa and Stirling Albion midfielder John Gibson. History Early days Blantyre Victoria were founded in 1889 by a Mr Sam Dawson, who remained working with the club until his death in 1929. When they were founded, they initially had no permanent ground so played on Glasgow Road in Blantyre. They became members of the Scottish Junior Football Association, and soon won the Lanarkshire Junior League in 1892 and in 1893. In the 1893-94 season, Blantyre reached the Scottish Junior Cup semi-final, losing out to Renfrew Victoria at Kelburn Park. Later that year, the club then went senior which allowed them to play Scottish Qualifying Cup. Despite being defeated by East Stirlingshire in the fifth round of the 1895–96 Qualifying Cup, Blantyre earned a tie against Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Cup first round proper, losing the match handily 1-12 in Blantyre. The next edition of the Qualifying Cup saw the Vics beat the likes of Dunfermline Athletic at East End Park only to lose to Arthurlie in the sixth round. Again, due to their performance in the Qualifying Cup, Blantyre entered the 1896–97 Scottish Cup in the first round proper. However, this time they bettered their opponents, Bathgate, 5-0 at home. They then lost their second round (Round of 16) match against Abercorn 4-1. Due to a lack of success on the pitch at the senior level, the club was dissolved in 1897. Return to Junior football The club was refounded in 1900 by a group of teenagers who paid for it with their own money. The new Victoria team played at Craighead Park (the later home of Blantyre Celtic) but when another club called Blantyre Hibs went defunct, the Vics took over their grounds at Castle Park in Low Blantyre, which is still the home of Vics today. In their first season back as a junior side, the club