Sheerin waiting on Mcinnes to rule on Anderson’s involvement at Stark’s
Aberdeen under-21s travel to Raith Rovers on Irn-bru Cup duty this evening and Pittodrie coach Paul Sheerin will be delighted if striker Bruce Anderson, who scored recently against Rangers, is allowed to feature. But he will also be pleased if he is denied the youngster’s services by manager Derek Mcinnes.
Sheerin said: “I will be guided by what Derek decides. There is no downside. If Bruce is available I will be pleased as I know how good he is. If he is not available I will still be pleased as that would mean Bruce is part of the manager’s plans for the weekend.
“That is what developing players is about.”
Annan meet Celtic’s Colts for a third year running and Galabankmanagerpetermurphy knows that a second consecutive success will be difficult. “Celtic will not want to lose twice to Annan,” he said.
Rangers’ Colts side meet
Falkirk, with Bairns boss Paul Hartley saying: “This will be tough and we have to make sure we are up for it.”
Ross County visit Hearts 0 Bruce Anderson: Scored in the 1-1 draw against Rangers.
under-21s, whose coach Andy Kirk said: “This is a chance for our young players to show what they are all about.”
In stand-out all-senior tie, holders Inverness Caley Thistle host Dunfermline, both sides looking to move on from disappointing Championship results at the weekend. Highland boss John Robertson said: “We need to move the ball quicker,” while Pars manager Allan Johnston revealed: “We will be freshening things up with youngsters and fringe players.”
Ayr head to Queen’s Park with doubts over in-demand former Spiders striker Lawrence Shankland. Manager Ian Mccall said: “Lawrence never trained much last week due to a back problem. He played against Inverness but we have to manage things appropriately.”
Partick Thistle include new striker Andréa Mbuyimutombo at Stranraer should international clearance be received. Manager Alan Archibald said: “I am pleased to get Andrea in. We face a very tricky tie but we go into it with confidence after Saturday’s 2-1 win over Falkirk.”
Morton head to Dumbarton, with manager Ray Mckinnon saying: “We will look to impose our game. That was our approach at Alloa on Saturday and it worked well.”
Queenofthesouthmanager Gary Naysmith is looking for his side to be resilient at Stenhousemuir. “If we lose one goal we quickly lose a second,” he explained.
“We bounced back against Stranraer and Morton after doing it but we could not recover against Dundee United on Saturday.
“Ochilview is a tough venue and we cannot give Stenhousemuir encouragement.”
Alloa take on visitors Stirling Albion, and Wasps manager Jim Goodwin is determined to get one over local rivals. He said: “It is a local derby and we will play it in that manner.”