Iain Ready to Fight for Place

Clyde defender Iain Gray spoke to the media following yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Queen’s Park at Hampden Park.

The 23-year-old capped a fine individual performance by scoring from Ged Traynor’s corner to give The Bully Wee the lead, which was only his second goal for the club. He said:-

“I managed to get a yard on my marker and stuck my foot on the ball, thankfully it hit the net. It’s my first goal since 2011 so I enjoyed it. I thought it was going to be the winner; we defended very well at times, they put us under a lot of pressure at the end but we were dealing with it.”

A very late penalty award denied Iain a winning goal as The Spiders scored from the spot to secure a draw:-

“The corner came over and I saw Alan punch the ball away, then I heard the whistle. I thought the ref had awarded a free-kick initially. Darren Miller is a good player and a set piece expert so I was expecting him to score from the penalty. I can’t really comment on the foul as I didn’t see it.

“It feels like a defeat. I thought we deserved the win, Queen’s Park had a lot of possession but weren’t able to do much with it. We defended well as a team and the strikers also worked their socks offs. It probably wasn’t the best game to watch as a spectator but we showed a lot of resilience in the match and we need to carry that on to next week.”

The match was only Iain’s third competitive outing of the season after a difficult spell that was hindered by a foot injury. He continued:-

“I had six months out through injury which was frustrating, but the gaffer has been brilliant with me and kept me involved with the team. I’m happy he gave me a chance today, it was only my fifth game since April and that includes two reserve matches. I thought I did ok, but everyone can always improve and I’m hoping to kick on from here. 

“It’s going to be tough to keep a place in the team, the manager has brought in a lot of good players and nobody is guaranteed a spot. You’ve got to keep on your toes and play well so I hope I’m up to the task.

“I’m ready to fight for my place and give the manager a selection headache.”