News

With four games left to try to clinch a playoff place, our injury crisis shows no sign of easing, and the manager will once again have a limited squad from which to choose for the lengthy weekend trip to Annan.

It seems unlikely any of the casualties will be ready to return in time for the encounter, and a few others have been receiving treatment since the defeat at Falkirk, which has had a big bearing on this week’s training.

Paul Hartley says he has had to be careful managing the situation:

“We have been short of bodies, and we’ve just tried to keep the sessions as sharp and bright as possible, while trying to ensure there are no more injuries. You work in smaller areas, and I know there has to be contact of sorts, but I’ve told the boys just to be careful while tackling and be mindful of the problems we have.

“It’s not about physical fitness in training at this stage of the season, it’s just about keeping active and working on the mentality, which is good. Last week was disappointing, but we had some good play in the first half, and we’re going to need more of that. I’ve spoken with the back line, the defenders, about the goals we lost, they were avoidable, but the boys know they’ve got four games to get this done, and the attitude is spot-on.”

While this week has come too early for most of the walking wounded, Paul does hope some will be fit enough to return for the remainder of the run-in:

“I would like to think Mitch Megginson will be okay for the meeting with Alloa next weekend, and Blair Yule has been getting involved in some of the training with the rest of the group, but we need to be careful with him as he’s been out for a long time.

“We don’t want to rush him, but we do need more bodies, so it’s a fine balancing act.

“Rumarn Burrell has been struggling, so we’ll need to wait to see how he is, Arron Darge has also been getting treatment, and Mark Reynolds has had an ongoing issue with his calf. It is going to have to be a late decision on the team for Saturday.”

We have a good record overall against Annan, and have taken maximum points so far in the current campaign, but Paul is well aware of the threat they carry:

“They’re fighting at the other end to stay up, but they’re a decent side, and they have caused us a few problems. I’ve watched their last couple of matches, they gave Alloa a hard time, and their game against Hamilton last week should probably have been called off because of the wind, it was a lottery.

“They have strong attacking options and any time we face Annan we know we’re in for a tough contest. We have won all three, and the last one down there was a really good performance, so we need to go and repeat that if we’re to pick up what could be a massive three points.”

With the playoff battle so tight, the results of our rivals will inevitably have a big part to play in where we eventually end up, and the manager admits he does look at them, and the fixtures the others still have to face:

“You do, of course you do, especially after you’ve finished your game, but the most important thing is taking care of your own business.

“It’s difficult to know just how many points we are going to need, and you look at Kelty, they might think they’re not out of it yet. It’s so hard to predict, but I have said all along, let’s make sure we go into the final game against Edinburgh City with the chance to make the playoffs, and that is what we are fully focused on.”

Supporters travelling down to Galabank can find all the matchday information HERE

Article Copyright © 2024. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and to www.coverangersfc.com

Annan Defeat Hits Playoff Hopes »