The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Walker determined to fight for survival
Gordon Walker is determined to avoid history repeating itself by helping Arbroath dodge relegation from the Championship.
The Irish defender suffered heartbreak as Cork City were defeated in their League of Ireland premier division play-off back in November – and he would witness the devastating consequences on the club as a result.
The Lichties require a heroic turnaround heading into their final seven fixtures, the first of which comes at home against Dunfermline tomorrow.
“Last season was my first in a relegation fight and I know the repercussions of relegation first hand,” Walker said.
“I saw what happened to my club back home – people potentially losing their jobs, good people move on and there are players that you would like to keep that you are unable to.
“That’s something I don’t want to experience again and I’m pushing hard to avoid a repeat.
“We still believe as a group we can get out of this and we go into each game with full belief we can get three points.”
The 24-year-old returned from the bench as Jim Mcintyre’s men were edged out 1-0 by Partick Thistle last weekend.
It has been a whirlwind introduction for Walker, who was thrown in for his debut almost immediately after arriving in Scotland back in January.
The defender was then dropped following the 6-0 drubbing against Queen’s Park last month, but he is determined to prove his worth in the run-in to the season.
“I’ve got a lot more to offer than what I showed that night and I think the gaffer’s decision was justified when he dropped me,” he added.
“When you are on the bench, I think it is key that you are constantly watching the game and coming on to make an impact. You are not coming on to make up the numbers.
“That’s what I tried to do against Partick Thistle and I think it was one of my better games in an Arbroath shirt.”
Sunday saw players past and present, as well as supporters, come together to celebrate Lichties legend Ricky Little at his testimonial dinner.
For Walker, it also was a further demonstration of the passion so many people have for the club – something he hopes can inspire the players in the dressing room in their survival fight.
“The club means a lot to a lot of people and the players that have been here a number of years will be the first to tell you to pull your socks up if things aren’t going explained.
“Even though I’ve only been here a few months, I have the same mindset. I don’t want to see us going down.”
Meanwhile, Dunfermline manager James Mcpake is conscious of the fact his side have not managed to string together three consecutive wins in a campaign ravaged by injuries to key players.
He is hopeful the Pars can finally achieve that in tomorrow’s trip to Arbroath.
With two 1-1 draws in their last two encounters, Mcpake added: “It is going to be a tough game, it always is going up there. We know that. right,” he
“The game up there was a pretty boring game earlier in the season.
“The draw here wasn’t great either, but that’s from a Dunfermline point of view.
“They will probably say the one down here was a decent enough game for them.
“We have not managed three victories in a row this season in the league.”
The Pars boss added: “Our squad is healthy, we have a good group of players to choose from and we will go up there knowing we need to be at the levels we were at Morton to get anything out of the game.
“The incentive is to try to get three wins in a row.”