Cairnsis handed Super6 reinsat County
Rutkiewicz believes Binos can shock high-flying Peterhead by ditching the cars and taking bus to Balmoor in bid to foster winning mentality
Stirling Albion boss Kevin Rutkiewicz believes bussing it to Balmoor could be key to his players putting the brakes on Peterhead’s League Two title ambitions.
After a weather-enforced weekend off last time around — the visit of Albion Rovers to Forthbank falling foul to a frozen pitch — the Binos head to the north east for their final away fixture of 2018 and Rutkiewicz has already rearranged his side’s usual travel plans in a bid to plot another victory in Balmoor following their 2-0 Betfred Cup group-stage success back in July.
The Stirling boss revealed that his squad will leave their cars at home for tomorrow’s trip and take the long journey by bus in an effort to strengthen squad spirit ahead of a mouth-watering clash against the side sitting second in the table.
Rutkiewicz said: “These are the games you want to play in — at League Two level, they don’t come much bigger than Peterhead in terms of what they represent and the quality of player they have as well.
“I can’t wait to take on that challenge and I would like to think all the boys are the same.
“Any point you get away from home is generally a good point. On the road, you have to find a way to pick up points but the only thing that’s different on Saturday is that we’ll all travel together rather than turning up in separate cars. Good teams win wherever they play and we need to approach this with a strong mentality.
“I’m sure the boys will give a great account of themselves.”
Stirling have had a number of players carrying knocks and Rutkiewicz admits his side’s enforced lay-off could be of benefit as it gives some of his crocks more rest time — but he still insisted he would still rather have played last weekend.
He added: “As a footballer, you tend to find a way through games when you are not 100 per cent and it can give you a great momentum when you get over these wee hurdles.
“The week off will have given the guys a bit of a rest ahead of a long trip and a hard game at Peterhead, but on the other hand I would love to have got out there and tried to get a victory under our belt going into this game.
“Lee Hamilton and Mark Stewart are still out and Jason Marr would have definitely missed the Albion Rovers game. One or two others were possibly struggling so it gives them a chance to get primed for Saturday.”
Peterhead won 2-0 at Forthbank in the first league meeting between the teams this season back in August and have suffered just two defeats in 15 League Two matches this term.
The referee for tomorrow’s game is Chris Graham and kick-off is the usual 3pm. Former Edinburgh and Scotland centre Ben Cairns will be Stirling County’s new Super 6 head coach.
He will leave his current post at Currie Chieftains where he has been for the past seven years to take up the position next month and begin recruiting backroom staff and playing squads alongside the on-field rugby preparations for the inaugural campaign, which begins next season.
The new Stirling Super 6 coach retired in 2014 after 116 professional club games and seven caps for his country. He re-joined Currie in 2011 as a player and skills coach, progressing to defence and skills coach, head coach and, latterly, Head of Rugby last year.
Throughout this time, he has had various international age-grade and representative coaching roles and has been head coach of Scotland U19 and the Scotland U20 development side since 2017.
He said: “It’s always been a big personal ambition of mine to be a full-time coach and work at the highest level and I’m delighted to get this opportunity.
“Stirling County is a club I’ve always liked the look of and it has a lot of good people involved.
“It’s a good fit for me and I’m really honoured and excited to get the opportunity to lead them into what will be a new era for the club and Scottish rugby.”
He added: “Initially I see a big part of my role being to get up to speed with how the club currently operates. I want to get to know the individuals who make it tick so I can hit the ground running.
“I’m also excited by the partnership the club has with the University of Stirling and look forward to growing this and working with them.”