Up For The Challenge

Colin Hendry spoke exclusively to www.clydefc.co.uk on the eve of Clyde’s Broadwood clash with Oldham Athletic. It has been a challenging time for the new boss but as ever it is a challenge that he is not shirking from and he immediately addressed what Clyde fans have been concerned about:

“It has been disappointing that we have not secured any new signings to date but don’t confuse that with a lack of ambition or action. I appreciate how frustrated the fans must feel at the moment.

“At times, we felt we were close to concluding some deals but unfortunately they didn’t happen so we have to push on regardless. Patience is an overused word and some bigger clubs use it all the time but for our situation I can’t think of any better way of describing things. What we must not forget is that we have an excellent nucleus of talent here, but I fully appreciate we need to add a further quality to the squad in order to compete.”

One thing that has pleased Colin has been the excellent training facility that the club has secured:

“Little Kerse has been tremendous. It is 12 miles or so away from Broadwood but the quality of the complex is well worth it. The playing surface is magnificent and it gives any coach what he would want in order to develop players.”

When questioned further about the recent player moves from the club, Colin was frank:

“It was all done and dusted before I arrived and every player moved on for one thing and that was more money. Nothing has surprised me since taking on this job and I knew before I started what budget I’d be working with. When you are with a club that is at the back of the queue you have to wait sometimes.”

Colin confirmed moves to bring players up from the England are still ongoing:

“In any loan deal you are governed by the bigger club and that is what we are facing but don’t think we are sitting passively. I’m exploring every avenue and I’m in conversation daily with managers and players throughout the UK.

“Tomorrow night will be a very competitive match. We put in a decent performance against St.Mirren this week though it did prove again that we need to strengthen. Tomorrow night’s line up will be on similar grounds to last season but the fans are likely to see a couple of new faces in the starting line up and another two on the bench. Unfortunately there are a few injuries at the moment which will probably restrict my opportunity to test some of our trialists further.”

Colin concluded, “The spirit remains strong within the camp and we have chatted a lot about the challenges we will face in the season ahead. We are aware that people have made their minds up about where we will finish but we will not complain.

“The guys may not run out with blue and white painted faces but from day one they will be ready and organised and be totally committed to The Bully Wee.”