Gunnion hoping to see public in Perth back team

Jeanfield manager Ross Gunnion hopes the people of Perth can turn out in force for the club’s first home game in the senior ranks.

The Qualifying League cup fixture will welcome Edinburgh’s Leith Athletic to the Riverside on Saturday afternoon.

Gunnion (below) would love to see the Perth stadium packed out with fans on what is sure to be a special day for the club.

“We’re doing a bit of work trying to promote the game,”Gunnion said this week.

“The weather is looking good for the weekend and St Johnstone are playing away from home. So fingers crossed there is a good crowd.

“If last Saturday’s game is anything to go by, those who turn up will be in for a treat.

“We have a solid base to work from at the back and have real flair in attack with Paul Simpson, Connor McLaren, Chris Dodd and Chris Scott.

“They are all fighting for a place to play in the attacking line-up.

“It’s going to be exciting from a management point of view with it being the first game at the park in this set-up.”

Gunnion admits Leith Athletic are somewhat of an unknown quantity. But he has been doing his homework.

“They are one of the more established Edinburghbased East of Scotland teams,”he said.

“I’ve known about them for years and they have a great youth set-up and were very good in their amateur ranks.

“They’ve gone into the East of Scotland and have been one of the top three or four without getting promoted.

“If it hadn’t been for the influx of Juniors, they would have fancied challenging teams like Preston and Tynecastle.

“From what I gather they have two or three decent younger players and one or two experienced heads.

“They are picking from a big pool in Edinburgh so there will be good players in there.

“The problem for these types of teams is that they probably haven’t been used to playing quality opposition week in, week out.

“I would expect us to be of a similar standard. In the seeding system, they would be ranked pretty similar to us.

“It’s a League Cup at the start so it gives you the opportunity to try different things without too much risk.

“But it’s also an opportunity to get into the last 16 of a cup before September has even kicked into place.”

Saturday’s kick-off at the Riverside is 2.30pm.