Snow joke for clubs

Cup preparation not ideal

County clubs prepare for Scottish Cup action Carluke Rovers and Blantyre Vics are flying the flag for Lanarkshire as the Scottish Junior Cup fourth round gets underway this weekend.

Rovers are at home to Irvine Meadow and Vics visit Linlithgow Rose, with both managers disappointed not to get a competitive run-out before their ties.

They quickly moved in indoors and put their back-up plan into swift action when the inevitable postponements were confirmed, following a fall of snow.

Rovers manager Colin Slater booked a lunch-time slot at Carluke Leisure Centre, while Vics boss John Gibson opted for a Saturday mid-morning session on a thawed-out grass surface near Blantyre Sports Centre.

Slater left assistants Andy Barr and Craig Stark in charge of the training session while he headed to Ayrshire to watch Irvine Meadow beat Cumbernauld 3-0.

Rovers go into the tie at the John Cumming Stadium on the back of a 5-5 draw at Glasgow Perthshire, which stretched their unbeaten run to six games.

Colin said: “The game being off was not a major set-back – we have a couple of niggling injuries, so that gave them a chance to heal. Mark Canning, who is a big influence in midfield, started light training on Monday.

“We had a decent training session and we’ll have others during the week to prepare for the tie. “Irvine Meadow are a big junior club. “I have heard people saying they are not as good as they were, but after a slow start they have picked up form and are gradually climbing up the league.

“It will be a hard task but there’s no pressure on us – it’s just a day for us to do our best, and see what we can come up with.”

Blantyre Vics manager Gibson said: “A blank Saturday before an important cup tie was a disappointment.

“But we have only got a small squad so I wasn’t pushing for a friendly and run the risk of picking up an injury on a tricky surface.

“Instead, I arranged a brief training session on Saturday morning on a cleared piece of grass at Blantyre public park, opposite the sports centre, just to keep them ticking over.

“It was a low-key venture, but there was a fairly good turn-out for a brief training session, and it helped to keep the squad together.”

Gibson went on: “I’m still trying to add to our small squad. 0

“I spoke to a few players last week, but a couple of them are cup-tied so there’s no point in pushing through a signing when they would miss out anyway.”