PREVIEW: Albion Rovers v Clyde

Scott McLaughlin and Keigan Parker could make their Bully Wee debuts tomorrow as the League Two season continues with a trip to second placed Albion Rovers. 

Last Saturday’s postponement denied the new signings the opportunity to pull on the Clyde strip for the first time but, speaking to the official website before tomorrow’s clash at Cliftonhill, manager Barry Ferguson explained that the break helped his most recent signings get up to speed with their new team mates. 

Ferguson said: “We’ve had a few training sessions so the new players know how we want to do things and they have settled in well. 

“When the game was cancelled last weekend we couldn’t get our normal training pitch, but we still got the players together for a couple of hours so the boys could get to know their new teammates and understand the way we are trying to do things.”

The manager also confirmed that the signings are part of a fully fit squad – a squad that now contains a number of options, while he is still considering moves for another couple of players.

“Everyone is available and ready to go tomorrow,” he continued. “With everyone fit it gives me a bit of a headache over selection but that is what you want as a manager – you want to have options. You don’t want to have people guaranteed to play, I don’t think that is healthy, you need to a bit of competition. 

“Therefore are still a couple of irons in the fire but we just need to wait and see if we can get them through.”

This season 75 per cent of Clyde matches are being played on plastic pitches due to the artificial surfaces at Annan, East Stirling and Montrose as well as Broadwood, however tomorrow Ferguson takes his team to a narrow grass park but he insisted that the change in scenery is no excuse for him or his players. 

Discussing the Cliftonhill pitch, Ferguson said: “It’s a tricky game and a tricky surface. There are a lot of things you need to take into consideration but it’s not just us – everybody has got to face these challenges and it is us tomorrow. 

“We can’t use the stadium as an excuse, it is what it is and it is the same for everybody. We just need to face what is in front of us, we might need to adapt our game a wee bit from the way we want to play but that is the challenge that faces the players – I have spoken to them about that and will speak to them about it again before the game. 

“I want to get the ball down and play but there are some places that you can’t always do that so you need guys that can adapt their game and I have got to adapt my tactics. It is part and parcel of football, you can’t always get a lovely stadium and surface so you just need to get on with it – there are no excuses and no moaning about it.

“We are clear on what needs to be done and what way we need to play.”