Football: Another game off adds to Glens 'nightmare'

Dec 12 2012 by Kenny Smith, Rutherglen Reformer

Glencairn boss Willie Harvey has admitted the last few weeks have been a “nightmare” as the weather plays havoc with the fixture list.

The Glens were again left kicking their heels as their scheduled game on Saturday against Kello was called off.

The situation was doubly frustrating with some other teams getting their games played, something that saw the Glens drop to seventh in the league.

Although the Rutherglen men have games in hand over their rivals, it is a situation Willie was hoping to avoid.

He said: “We weren’t even able to get a game at Toryglen as it was frozen underneath. The problem is water isn’t going away.

“It was another dead weekend which is horrendous for us. I’ve always said one doesn’t matter but that’s three or four now and that becomes a problem.

“It’s an absolute nightmare.

“What is really annoying is the fact one or two teams got their games on.

“Kilbirnie won and have now moved above us and although we have games in hand what you want is points on the board.

“I take solace from what we done last year (when Glens took 23 points from their last 11 league games). I know we are capable of going on a run and we would be hard to stop but that is only if we get a clear run with no injuries or suspensions.

“We’ve booked Toryglen as a back-up this week but we’ll need to wait and see.”

Despite his frustration, Willie is cautiously optimistic his side will see action on Saturday, be it their scheduled league match at Whitletts or a friendly at Toryglen.

While temperatures are set to plummet in the first half of the week, the forecast is for milder conditions towards the weekend.

Willie will prepare his players as normal, and knows Whitletts, who Glens thrashed at the Clyde Gateway Stadium in September, present exactly the kind of opponent that could see them slip up.

He said: “You really need a few days for a park to thaw but the forecast isn’t as bad towards Thursday and Friday. Hopefully we will see some action.

“The only problem is it is outwith out control as the game is in Ayrshire.

“This is a dangerous game for us. It’s the kind of game we can let ourselves down as the players tend to think it will be easy.

“We are better suited going into games as underdogs. When my players are talked up, too many of them seem to listen and take it to heart.

“They might see Hurlford beat Whitletts 5-1 and think it’s a holiday trip to the seaside, but it is a nasty banana skin.

“This time last year we were second bottom of the league and people probably thought we were a pushover.

“The difficult thing at this time of year is trying to freshen things up and keep the enthusiasm going, especially if players think the game is just going to be off.

“We need to be as professional as we can be and just go about our business and make sure we are prepared properly.”

With Glens facing a backlog of fixtures they may well be forced to again look at the youth team to help bolster numbers.

But Willie reckons they might not be able to steal their best players as easily this time round.

He said: “With them being so successful they might find themselves in cup finals or going for league titles.

“It’s a double edged sword. The better they do, the harder it might be for us to take their players.”