Heavy schedule ahead for the Saints women

Coach adds to squad for league restart

St Johnstone WFC head coach Jason McCrindle will utilise his full squad as a busy fixture schedule approaches.

The Perth side’s Scottish Women’s Premier League 2 season recommences on Sunday with a home game against Glasgow Women.

Following a pause due to COVID-19, eight games will now be played across the next month as Saints attempt to push their way up towards a promotion place.

Brodie Clark and new signings Hannah Colyer and Alix Moodie have added further firepower to the squad.

“It’s going to be demanding and a gruelling schedule,” said McCrindle (right). “It will be eight games in less than five weeks.

“We felt we needed to add a couple of players to make the squad strong. I’m really pleased to get them in.

“Tuesday was our third friendly and they have all played. We’ve been excited to get them involved and up to speed.

“They have come in and have done really well. All three will definitely add something different to the squad and give us more depth.

“You can train and train but it still does take a wee bit of time for the match sharpness to come back.

“It’s a totally different type of fitness when it comes to a game. So it’s been good to get back on the pitch.

“The full squad will be more vital than ever.

“We had a small squad previously and the players gave everything.

“But our depth is really good now and we’re approaching the remainder of the season stronger in terms of quality and numbers.”

Saints sit fifth in the SWPL2 but are only four points back from second-placed

Dundee United. McCrindle realises the importance of a positive result against Glasgow Women in Perth this Sunday to kick-start the momentum.

He said: “Every game in the league is winnable but we know that we can drop points every game too.

“It’s the nature of the league - that everybody can beat everybody. It’s what makes it so competitive.

“If we don’t reach the standards that we are capable of, we’ll lose. Playing okay doesn’t get you anything.

“We need to be at our maximum to take anything from the games. That has got to be the message to the players on Sunday.

“We need to hit the ground running. The biggest thing we want to do is build some momentum.

“If we get off to a good start this Sunday, it will mean we’re really looking forward to the midweek game on

Wednesday. We know we are capable of beating Glasgow Women.

“We’ve done it before.” While attention is very much on Sunday, McCrindle is keen to be building for the future.

And in that sense he has been delighted to welcome some of the club’s younger players to training in recent weeks – including Abbie Johnstone who plays with the under-15s.

“We’re promoting the pathway as much as possible within the club,” McCrindle told the PA this week.

“We’ve been getting some of the under-17s up to training and we even had an under-15 - Abbie - training with us.

“Looking forward, it is vital for a club like us that we do everything we can to support the pathway.”