McKay: It’s all but over for us
Shire resigned to league relegation
Dalziel ............... 29 Perthshire ........... 24 in the division.
“We have a very tough game against Dumfries a week on Saturday.
“We would need to win all our remaining games with a bonus point and for other results to go in our favour.
“We just need to suck it up and take it on the chin. It’s disappointing for the players. But I said to them at training this week that we’ve introduced a lot of younger guys and that can only stand us in good stead for the future.
“We would have liked to keep our current league position but if it is the Caledonia next season, we’ll have the solid aim to bounce straight back.”
McKay knows his players won’t throw in the towel for the remaining four games of the season.
He explained: “I think there is a sense of pride in this group and they will want to finish the season strongly. We want to finish well and go into the off season looking forward.
“It’s important that we make sure to think about who is going to be here next season. I want everyone to stay at the club.
“We have a few guys unavailable for our next game against Dumfries so it gives a chance to look at a few other players.
“Everyone in the league seemed to think that we’re too good to go down. We’ve given most teams in the league a run for their money.
“There was a feeling that there were 10 pretty good sides in that league one of which had do go down. That’s just the way it goes.
“You could argue we are a better rugby team than others but it’s about results. It’s too little too late. But I’m still massively looking forward to next season.”
There was some positive news for the club over the weekend with Perthshire Colts advancing to the Caledonia Cup final after a nail-biting 19-12 victory against Granite City.
“The Colts have reached the
Duncan Clow (centre) kicked valuable points at the weekend but Shire lost out Caledonia Cup final in April,” McKay said. “We’re giving a couple of them a game for the seconds on Friday night.
“It’s massively important to retain as many of the guys as possible.”
Shire have no game on Saturday.