Renfrew boss hopes flooded turf doesn’t bring Bot to their door
RENFREW co-manager Colin Clark isn’t convinced it is better the devil you know.
And with good reason, seeing as the Premiership’s bottom markers face a journey into the relative unknown today to face Macron Scottish Junior Cup opponents Thornton Hibs in a delayed fourthround tie but should waterlogged conditions up in Fife bring about a second consecutive postponement then Renfrew have provisionally agreed to play top-flight rivals Auchinleck Talbot on New Western Park’s astro grass surface.
That is assuming of course the inclement weather has also put paid to the Ayrshiremen’s own scheduled cup trek through to Lanarkshire to lock horns with Blantyre Vics on their notoriously heavy Castle Park pitch.
Clarky, a Scottish Junior Cup winner with the Frew in 2001, insisted: “November has not been a good month for us and I’ll be glad to see the back of it.
“It started away with backto-back defeats by Beith followed by a 3-0 defeat at the hands of a very clinical Auchinleck down at Beechwood Park and then we had last week’s cup tie against Thornton Hibs called off.
“Actually , the postponement turned out to be something of a blessing because Scott Morton, David McKenna, and Kieron Healy were all unavailable for one reason or another last week so their return leaves us much better placed for what is shaping as an extremely tough tie when you consider Thornton travelled down to these parts and knocked Rob Roy out in the last round.
“Hopefully we can stay defensively tight and have a bit of energy about us to get in the Thornton Hibs faces.”
The prospect of Memorial Park failing to pass muster has Clarky likening his side’s potential head-to-head with Auchinleck as something akin to “out of the frying pan and into the fire.”
He added: “We played reasonably well down at Auchinleck with Jamie Benton and Kieron Maxwell creating all manner of problems for Talbot but every mistake we made in the game was punished and you cannot help but admire the ruthlessness of their front players.
“We have recognised marksmen but have struggled to find the right balance and blend yet.”