Management thoughts on Preston tomorrow.

Posted on Friday, March 4th, 2011

Mike says –

“Games are now coming thick and fast with mid-week fixtures the norm for us from here on in. A few missed training last night carrying knocks from the Selkirk fixture so Sam and I will do a head count early tomorrow morning before finalising the team to face Preston.

Stevie and his Preston team aren’t having the best of it of late but he is too good a manager and they have too many good players to stay in the doldrums for long. The nucleus of the team are experienced East of Scotland players and the likes of Ross Gilpin, Craig Scott, Greg McColl, Matt Costello, Kevin Lee, Sean McAuley, Bryan Wilson and Stuart Miller could play for any side at our level. People mention tactics, fitness and ability when talking about a football team but confidence is more important than all three of these and the boys from the Pennypit are low on it at present. One break, one piece of skill or facing a team who start sloppy or aren’t up for the game and Preston’s season will turn around.

Omar should up from London this evening and we heard last night the David Etale is back in the country having completed his commando training. Tomorrow is obviously too early for David but with the schedule we have he’ll make a welcome return to the squad. Danny O’Donnell has still not returned to training and Doctor Seeley is on Ward duty. Scott Livingstone trained last night and could make the Ormiston game and as I said at the top we’ll wait and see how Ross Archibald, Alex King and Keith McLeod are before naming the side. Sam and I would expect there to be no problems with two of them although the third was still limping yesterday and is a doubt. 

The back to back games against Selkirk were a difficult return to football for us but the players excelled in both games against very game Border opposition. Tomorrow the three points available are very important to both sides for different reasons. Preston need to climb out of the relegation zone and we need to keep the pressure on Whitehill and both Stirling and Edinburgh Uni’s at the top of the league.

It’s wall to wall football from here to the end of May and I just hope the player’s legs and my lungs can handle it. We’ll soon find out starting tomorrow.”

Mike