Mcinally shuns Blue Toon’s favourites tag
Jonathan Page is a rarity among Englishmen in the Scottish game. The East Fife captain dares to compare football north of the border favourably with what he watched growing up down south.
Page believes the muchmaligned top 12 and three leagues of ten in Scotland offer a guarantee that cannot be made about the English game.
“You see English press talking all the time about mean- ingless end-of-season games and you don’t get that in Scotland at all because everyone’s playing for something right up until the last day of the season,” said the defender, whose club kick off their League 1 campaign at home to Stranraer this afternoon as he continues to build his fitness after a long-term injury. “I think the smaller leagues can honestly only be a good thing.
“You could have put a blanket over the bottom/middle eight in our division last season. I was sat in the stand one of the first games I was injured, at home to Albion Rovers in early March, and as we won the game our directors were celebrating the fact that we could no longer get relegated. This was at a point we were still trying to finish in third place. It goes to show how tight it is and how all the teams are likely to be playing for something come the end of the season.
“With four new teams coming into the division it’s an unknown quantity and I think [relegated] Raith and Ayr will be favourites to go back up, while I anticipate Forfar and Arbroath being very good after coming up. Our aim will be to make the play-offs, as it was last year.” Peterheadbegintheirleague2 campaign at Annan today with manager Jim Mcinally pointing out that being favourites means nothing.
A summer of intensive recruitment, including former Motherwell player Jack Leitch, has led to the Balmoor men being tipped to make a return to League 1 at the first time of asking. However, that does not impress Mcinally, pictured, who said: “We were one of the favourites for pro- motion to the Championship last season and we ended up being relegated.
“The squad we have assembled should be strong enough to do well in League 2, but the squad we had last season should have been able to do well in League 1. Having a tag doesn’t mean a thing.”
Recognising the level of competition, he added: “Stenhousemuir have rebuilt their entire squad with experienced players, Stirling Albion under Dave Mackay have assembled a very useful looking group and Montrose were superb in the second half of last season. Jim Chapman could take Clyde even higher than he took Annan, Edinburgh City have added players who were playing at a decent level in England andbillybrownwillhavecowdenbeath fired up. Berwick and Elgin are managed by guys who have taken their clubs into the top four before.” Mcinally is sure about one thing. He said: “It is my responsibility that we were relegated. If not for the relationship I had built with the directors I would be gone. It is my responsibility to get them back up but it will not be easy.”