Barry Praises Squad Effort

Clyde manager Barry Ferguson spoke to the official website last night, following a fine win at Annan Athletic last weekend.

Jamie Pollock’s superb late strike earned The Bully Wee a deserved three points and Barry was delighted with the result and performance:-

“I thought the team did really well on Saturday,” he said. “In fact, I was proud of them. We had a few guys out of position and they did a great job; our second half performance in particular was pleasing.”

The result was achieved despite several members of the squad being unable to take part, as the Clyde boss explained:-

“We’re down to the bare bones, a number of players are struggling with injury or illness, but we’ll just need to get on with it until the end of the season now.

“Paul Slane has been struggling with an illness for a few weeks and he had to come off at half-time. Keigan Parker was also subbed due to a calf injury. Scott McManus was out, also through illness, and we obviously have Scott McLaughlin and Scott Ferguson with long-term injuries. Jamie Pollock played despite carrying an injury.”

The manager’s own position was also clarified. Following treatment for his ankle injury, which has ultimately proven unsuccessful, he will be unable to play again this season and looks unlikely to play competitively again.

He continued:-

“I knew in January that I was taking a bit of a gamble with the size of the squad. Injuries always happen but we lost five or six players in a short space of time. It was really disappointing as we had a settled team, went on a good run and were looking strong, but the changes affected us. However it is a part of football and as I have said before, I don’t want to use it as an excuse.”

Veteran forward Mark Roberts was called upon to make a contribution at Galabank and, not for the first time, made a welcome impact on the match. Barry explained that Mark has taken up a dual role since joining the club officially in February:-

“Mark was always a good player and, in my opinion, should have played at the top level for his whole career. I also knew him before I came to Clyde and after he left Ayr he called me to ask if he could join us to keep fit. That led to us signing him as a player-coach.

“I like him, he’s enthusiastic and he’s got good ideas. Alongside Marko and Shug Murray, he’s been a big influence for us on and off the pitch.”

Tomorrow, fourth place East Fife visit Broadwood and a Clyde win would close the gap between the clubs to four points. Barry admitted that he hadn’t given up on a late challenge for a play-off position:-

“Nothing is impossible, we’re stretched in terms of players but we’ll take each game as it comes.

“We only had 12 players at training on Tuesday night and a couple of the team from Annan are doubtful for Saturday. We might need to play a couple more guys out of position, but I’ve already spoken to them about it and their attitude was good so that’s a positive. It’s a chance for people to shine and we can also bring in some of the Under-20 squad.”