Aitken desperate to clear sick bay

DUMBARTON boss Stevie Aitken says that his focus is on patching up his injury-hit squad ahead of the league season after his side’s Betfred Cup hopes were all but ended with defeat at Clyde.

The Sons take on Annan tonight, who they share bottom spot with in the Group E table after two defeats apiece, and with three sides already on six points they require a minor miracle to progress any further in the competition.

And while manager Aitken will send his team out to get the win, both tonight and on Saturday against Kilmarnock, he recognises that their priorities have now changed with the Championship campaign looming on the horizon.

He told Sons TV: “It’s a new team, it’s a full new squad of players, so it’s going to take a while to settle down, but the frustrating thing is we were so far in front in the [Clyde] game and we’ve come away with nothing.

“Now we’ve got a problem and we will have to look at maybe bringing one more in.

“We’ve got a game on Tuesday and then Kilmarnock on Saturday, but the main focus now is getting everybody fit for the start of the league season.

“Grant Gallagher is out long-term, Stuart Carswell has had his scan and although it has come back clear in terms of major issues, he still has a fair bit of bruising and that can range from one week to six months.

“It’s difficult when you’ve got bruising of the bone and until that clears up we can’t get him on the training field.

“That’s two players, and Dougie Hill and Tom Walsh have picked up strains too. We’re hopeful that Tom Walsh can play some part on Tuesday, but we’re going to have to be careful now with player, there’s two or three with knocks.

“So yeah, we’ve got our problems, but I’m sure come the start of the season we’ll be fine.”