Strikers returning to fitness for Glens
JONATHAN GEDDES
Glencairn boss Willie Harvey is hoping for a fitness boost ahead of the festive fixtures.
The Glens’ clash with Kilwinning Rangers was washed out at the weekend, and they remain second bottom in the Premiership table.
However the club has received some good news of Saturday’s game against Beith, with strikers Jay McKay and Gary Smith nearing a return.
Harvey said: “Both Jay and Gary trained on Monday night, and they are close to returning now.
“It was a wee boost to see that , and I think it gave the other boys a bit of a lift.
“We are still creating chances week in week out, and if Gary and
Jay are back then we are more likely to take those chances.
“There’s a lot of goals there with those two players.
“We were looking good in training and hopefully the break will have done us some good we looked a bit down last week after the Petershill game (where Glencairn lost 4-0 in the Scottish Cup) so it wasn’t the worst thing to have the game off on Saturday.”
Now the Glens face Beith in their final home game of the year, and will be desperately hoping to secure some points to improve their league position.
The Glens lost the reverse fixture 4-1 in August, with Dale Simeon scoring their only goal.
“They’re a strong team but although they beat us at the start of the season it was close until the last 15 or 20 minutes, and it was a game where we had a huge amount of injuries.
“We’d filled out the squad that day with a couple of guys from the under-21s and we just tired at the end.
“Assuming the game goes ahead on Saturday then we should be a bit stronger.
“We need to start picking up points with where we are in the league.”
Meanwhile the Glens have confirmed that captain Tony Fraser is now a player-coach at the club.
Harvey added: “He’s been doing coaching on and off at the club for the past wee while.
“It was always the intention to move him into a role like this because you don’t lose someone who’s that respected.
“He’s someone you could always see making that move into coaching.”