McKim: We’re not out the promotion race yet
Johnstone Burgh boss Jamie McKim will be without captain Niall Herron for today’s trip to Vale of Clyde.
However, the Keanie Park boss has hailed the return of top goalscorer Sam Esplin, who missed last weekend’s win over Ardeer Thistle.
Burgh will be looking to keep their faint promotion hopes alive with a win over Vale, who sit just one spot above them in the Championship.
And McKim insists there is a long way to go before they right off any chance of getting out of the division.
The Burgh gaffer told Express Sport: “We are just seven points off a promotion place. We have shot ourselves in the foot at times this season but we sat down as a team earlier this week and had a good chat about going forward.
“A number of teams have games in hand here and there and although it doesn’t guarantee you points, there is still a good way to go.
“We believe that we claw ourselves back into the mix but we need to start this weekend against Vale of Clyde.
“You need to beat the sides that are around you in the league table if you are to stand a chance of moving up.
“It won’t be easy because we will be definitely missing Niall Herron which is a real blow, while Kieron Magennis and Cameron Hayes are also out so we will have to be makeshift in some respects.
“However, with Chris Agnew and Sam Esplin back available then that is a huge boost going into the game.
“Sam has been different class for us this season and is our top goalscorer for a reason.
“I think he is as good as anyone in this league and probably a number of teams in higher leagues as well. There has been interest for him in the past but we are just delighted he is a Johnstone Burgh player.”
McKim admits today ’ s opponents will be out for revenge following a close call in the previous meeting between the sides this season.
A 2-1 win for Burgh was sealed with the last kick of the ball from Magennis to hand the hosts all three points.
And McKim admits that if the boot was on the other foot he would have his players fired up to show that the result was undeserved.
He added: “We won 2- 1 but I would have been sick if I was their manager.
“They will be wanting revenge and I can completely understand that because we have experienced it ourselves in the past.
“Those types of defeats are the ones that you don’t forget.”
McKim revealed he has a new weapon at his disposal, with Mark Davies, son of former St Mirren midfielder Billy, joining his brother Billy Jnr in signing on at Keanie Park.
He explained: “Mark has been training with us for a few months and we finally signed him up.
“He has scored a couple of goals from midfield and has really added something to the team.
“He comes with a decent record from the likes of Kilsyth Rangers so we were delighted to get that done.”