Queen Of The South V Clyde – Game On
Queen of the South F.C confirmed at three o’clock this afternoon that the weather in Dumfries is fine and tonight’s League fixture at Palmerston is in no danger of being called off.
Clyde are at full strength. Speaking to the website at lunchtime Clyde boss Billy Reid was confident that the players would react in the correct manner following the Celtic match. “We did better than well in the first half and have a lot to be proud of. Certainly the boys were disappointed especially in regard to some of the silly goals conceded but we need to focus on the many positives.”
“On Sunday we passed the ball around well as we have done in recent weeks,” Billy continued, “and I think we have blended well as a team. Certainly tonight will be very difficult the pitch will be heavy and Queen of the South will be keen to get a result against us.”
“Our aim is now to move on from the cup tie. The rights and wrongs of it should be forgotten, for now we need to concentrate on finishing in the top two. In saying that I’m not conceding the title to Falkirk but I appreciate that to put pressure on them we need to win at least four of our next six games so therefore tonight is crucial.”
At Palmerston, Queen’s manager Iain Scott was sounding no less optimistic, but took time out to compliment Clyde.
“We’ve had five ‘clean sheets’ in our last seven home league matches, so defensively we’re O.K., but I’d like to see more goals going in at the other end.
“I’ve studied a video of the Clyde-Celtic cup-tie and they did well in the first half and despite losing five goals I still consider them a match for any club in our league. They’re strong in defence and build their game round that. They defend well, hit on the break and play ‘route-one’ football. They’re a good side, very difficult to beat as their second place league position proves. But, as I’ve said many times before, we fear no-one on our own ground.
“We had two lively training sessions on Saturday and with us having more-or-less a full squad now, the competition for places is very intense. There were a few heated exchanges, but that’s not bad, for it shows just how keen the lads are to be playing. It’s all about being competitive.
“There are no easy games in this Division and I’m sure there are more draws than in any other league in Britain. Any point gained is a good point and three points from a win is a real bonus. We’ve still got a bit of a ‘cushion’ between ourselves and Hamilton and Partick, but it’s not a big one. However we’re looking upwards, not downwards, for that’s negative thinking.
“We’ve two home games in three days coming up and to win both of them would be brilliant. That would give us six valuable points and could well push us up into third place. It would put us on the 41 point mark, only one short of the 42 points target I’ve set the players. I still think that would be sufficient to ensure First Division survival for if we can’t manage seven points from our last ten games we don’t deserve to be in this league next season”.