Stuart’s Thanks for Lithgow Deal

Clyde head coach, Stuart Millar spoke to www.clydefc.co.uk before training this evening and following the move to re-sign Alan Lithgow on a one-year deal. He was keen to place on record his thanks to those that helped make it possible:-

“My gratitude goes out to the Supporters’ Trust and all the contributors to the Bully Wee Fund for making this happen. If they weren’t as generous, this would not have taken place.

“I’d also like to thank Neil (Watt) for his part in concluding the deal with Alan.”

Stuart continued with his own thoughts on the move:-

“We all know Alan’s a terrific player. He had every right to try and pursue a full-time career this summer. It became clear recently, however, that he was keen to return to Clyde.

“Neil was primarily in discussions with Alan but I felt it was important that I also met him for a heart to heart at the weekend. During our chat it became clear that he was desperate to return to the club.

“We went over a lot of things – some positive and some negative – but by the end of the meeting I was delighted by the commitment Alan was showing to the club and the staff. It was then an easy decision to bring him back.

“We’ll assess his fitness in the coming week, as he’s been training on his own for the last week or so, and then make a decision about whether or not he should be involved at Hampden on Saturday.”

Stuart went on to talk about the overall squad situation and elaborate on some of his post-match comments on Saturday:-

“The squad is threadbare just now, with Hadyn Cochrane and Stuart Mills injured. Unfortunately, both are still a couple of weeks away from coming back.

“I mentioned the spine of the team on Saturday and what I meant by that, for example, is that we only had two centre halves at the club. A squad needs at least three. As well as that, we’ve only got two fit central midfielders just now and up front Willie Sawyers is just returning and needs games.

“So, although we had 18 players, we were short of options through the middle of the team. Those positions need covered and Alan’s signature is a step towards that.

“We probably need another central midfielder to give us four players competing for two positions. I’m not in a rush regarding strikers, given the goals the guys have scored recently and with Willie getting closer to full fitness.”