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Cosgrove: Point To Prove

Stephen Cosgrove is a hoping to be a man on a mission this Saturday, with something to prove to supporters on both sides of the pitch. “Cossy”, of course, spent last season at Fir Park having left Man Utd in 2001, so he knows a thing or two about Clyde’s Scottish Cup opponents:-

“They have a mix of youth and experience,” he explained, “but their younger players will form the main part of their team. James McFadden, Stephen Pearson and Steven Hammell are three in particular who will cause us problems.”

Stephen was a victim of the financial plight at Motherwell last summer when he was sacked, having only featured twice for them, which he puts down to an untimely change in personnel:-

“My problem at Motherwell was that new coaching staff took over just after I arrived. Billy Davies signed me, and I think I would have featured in his teams regularly, but unfortunately he left soon after and my face didn’t fit with Terry Butcher and Eric Black.”

This has fuelled a determination to prove his old Coach wrong, and he is hoping to feature on Saturday which would give him an ideal opportunity to do so:-

“I’m absolutely desperate to play on Saturday – obviously I have a point to prove. I was really disappointed that last Saturday’s game was called off, as that would have given me another chance to stake my claim for a starting place. I know Pat Keogh is injured so I feel I could fill his position, although John Fraser is on the verge of returning.”

Alan Kernaghan’s training methods are highly regarded by many players at the club, so we asked Cossy to compare his current training to that he received at Old Trafford:-

“I wouldn’t say there are a lot of differences. When I was younger at Man Utd the training was very hard, but after that the training at Clyde and Motherwell has been much the same.”

He was quick to point out that he didn’t have to dodge any flying boots in his time down south:-

“Nothing like that to report, no!”

Being a local lad, Stephen had links with Clyde before he signed on the dotted line this season:-

“I used to train with the Clyde Youth setup before I moved down to Manchester. I played for them in a few tournaments, and Clyde asked me to sign. I considered it very seriously, but at that time a move to Old Trafford was just too good to resist.”

A section of the Clyde support seems to believe Stephen isn’t showing enough commitment to the club, but he was quick to disagree:-

“I’d say that’s unfair – I need a run of 10 games or so in the team before people can judge me properly. I feel I’ve done alright in the games I’ve played but there’s a lot more to come.”

It’s that time of year again when players contracts are up for renewal, and Stephen would be delighted to extend his deal at Broadwood:-

“Ideally that is what I want to achieve. I’m going to have to try and prove myself before the end of the season and see what happens.”

Confidence certainly won’t be a problem for Cossy if he is selected to play on Saturday, and he predicts Clyde’s name will be in the hat for the Quarter-Final draw:-

“I’ll go for a Clyde victory, but it will be tight. Hopefully I can open my scoring account!”

Our thanks to Stephen for taking the time to talk to us.
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