Partick Thistle v Clyde

Colin Hendry spoke to www.clydefc.co.uk at the end of a keenly contested training session this morning, as the squad prepared for Wednesday’s derby clash at Firhill. The Clyde Manager started by giving some thoughts on Saturday’s defeat:-

“Despite the disappointing result against St Johnstone I felt the second part of the match was far better than the first. For us not to get a stranglehold on the game earlier was disappointing but then again you’re looking at younger players, whereas a more experienced bunch might have played it differently.

“It was shoddy defending for both of their first half goals. We didn’t close down Daal’s cross at the first one and for the second Craig’s got to stay on his feet and be better than that at a one-on-one situation in the box.”

Marvyn Wilson’s red card means he will miss The Bully Wee’s first outing of 2008 through suspension and, unfortunately, he may not be the only player forced to sit in the stands. Colin continued:-

“We’ve got a couple of knocks from Saturday which might affect us so we might have to improvise a bit. We’ll know closer to kick-off exactly where we are.

“We’re stretched at a time when we need a big squad but I’m sure anyone we have to call upon will do the team and the club justice.”

Colin finished by speaking passionately about his desire to reverse previous performances against the Maryhill club:-

“I know that the two defeats to Thistle have been a negative part of my time at Clyde because of how critical they are to our supporters. It’s a massive fixture for the fans and we got beat at home and just didn’t turn up at Firhill; that’s extremely disappointing.

“There are no guarantees in football but I hope that the players will be better prepared when they cross the white line this time. Certainly, it’s never been stressed to them as much as to how important a game it is. I don’t want the riot act at half-time this time – I’ll do that before the match.

“If we’re short of players we will be in the face of adversity but we’ve just got to get on with it and we’ll approach it with the utmost professionalism.”

Supporters please note that there will be a minute’s silence or applause before the start of the match, in memory of Motherwell FC Captain, Phil O’Donnell.