Beaming boss is surprised

Gus admits side are ahead of schedule

Q u e e n ’s P a r k b o s s G u s MacPherson admits he has been “pleasantly surprised” by the terrific form shown by his side this season.

Speaking to the Reformer after their 3-0 victory of East Stirling, Gus admits he didn’t expect his squad to gel quite as well after making so many summer additions.

He said: “With so many players coming in at the one time it’s never easy. You’re always a little bit unsure of how everyone will settle in.

“If you looked at last season’s table I don’t think anyone could have believed that we would have been in this position. That’s the pleasing thing about it. We’ve had some drawbacks with injuries in recent weeks, but we’ve still picked up wins. We’ve got the injured players coming back in the next two to three weeks so everything is going well at the moment.”

Their win over East Stirling lifts Queen’s to second in the table above Albion Rovers.

Of the game, Gus said that despite the 3-0 scoreline he noticed an improvement over East Stirling from the last time the two teams met, which ended in a 3-1 win to QP at Ochilview.

He said: “We were delighted to win the game. We had to defend well for periods and it was good to get that clean sheet. We could quite clearly see an improvement in East Stirling from the last time we played them , they had got their senior players back, experienced guys and you could see it.

“It was a tough game. I was pleased with the quality of the goals from set pieces as that’s something we work on. It was pleasing that Carter got a goal, it was ample reward for the hard work he has put in over the last few weeks.”

Next up Queen’s will face Montrose at Links Park and the week after it’ll be their last game at Excelsior on December 20 when they take on Annan.

Gus said: “We’ll be delighted to get back to Hampden. It’s one of the selling points of the club. Everyone at the football is grateful for the hospitality that Airdrie have shown but there’s nothing like your own home.

“However we’ve got Montrose to think about before that and I’m sure it’ll be a tough game.” Queen’s Park continued their recent good form with a 3-0 win over East Stirling.

QP took the lead after only seven minutes. Wharton headed home a Miller corner.

The action of the first half was taking place mainly in the Shire half. Another Miller corner on 37 minutes resulted in a Rooney header crashing off the bar.

Queen’s would have to wait until the hour mark to double their lead, and a fine goal it was too. A pass into the box was cleared out to Woods, who got to the right byeline and played a delightful cutback for Carter to net at the near post.

Ten minutes from time Band QP wrapped up the points with a superbly struck Burns free-kick.

QUEEN’S PARK: Muir, Rooney, McVey, Slattery, Quinn, Wharton, Woods, Miller, Carter (McPherson, 79), Fraser (Fotheringham, 87), McElroy (Burns, 76).