Managers View
We now enter the last third of our league season and we currently sit in 4th position. We have won our last 5 league games to get ourselves into this position but there is a lot of hard work still ahead in order to maintain where we are and indeed push on further. It is all very tight from 3rd down to 7th and a couple of results, even 1, can see your position alter 2-3 positions either way so it’s important that we try and focus all our efforts into each and every 90+ minutes. It will be far from easy though and we now face arguably 2 of the hardest away fixtures of the season back to back. Both Nairn and Fraserburgh have good home records and on their day will compete and make life very difficult for any opponent.
Since we last wrote our league form has been good and enjoyable but this is tempered with 2 disappointing performances and subsequently results in the last 2 remaining cup competitions. We have enjoyed good hard fought victories over Deveronvale, Fort William, Turriff & Keith in the league but we have certainly been disappointed with the cup games v Fraserburgh and Lossiemouth last Saturday. Quite simply on both these occasions we haven’t been good enough to win the games and the players know that themselves. It has to be 1 of the aims next season to push on and reach cup finals in order to give ourselves the opportunity to win medals. The players are as frustrated as anyone as they know they had great opportunities in both competitions but they are gone now and we bounced back well after both results so there is plenty of room for optimism.
On the squad front since we last wrote we have seen the return of Graeme Stewart to Harlaw. This we feel will prove to be an excellent signing as “ Spiders “ attitude and commitment to his own game and others at training as well as on the pitch is fantastic. He provides the correct type of winning mentality at the club and is something we feel we were missingin some areas. We are convinced this can rub off on others in the squad and help make them better players also. We have seen it written and heard it said that perhaps he should not have been allowed to return to the club after his previous stint but there was never any question about this in our minds. Spider is first and foremost a cracking person and player who will help us get to where we want to be. He categorically did not want to leave Locos in the first place and please be rest assured that he refused the opportunity of a lot more money elsewhere in the Highland League to return. We have also taken our old goalie Stuart Gray back as cover for Andy and Daniel at a time where Andy was suspended and Daniel suffering from a slight injury. Having been caught out twice ( the 2nd time only through our inability to name Stuart due to not being registered before start of competition ) we don’t want to get caught out again potentially between now and the end of this season although as he is quick to remind us Andy “ the cat “ Low has a clean sheet to his name this season !
Disappointing to see that as we write this both supporters buses for the next 2 away fixtures are cancelled due to insufficient numbers. Of course we realize in these times that there are other priorities in life but it’s disappointing all the same at a time when the players are trying to push on and improve they need all the help they can get and nothing beats a good support getting behind you. Hopefully this is just a small blip and we’ll see you all again next Saturday for the home match against an ever improving Wick side. As always your support in good times and bad is greatly appreciated and it can never be underestimated how much the players need it. Hopefully in the not too distant future we can provide you with real reason to celebrate in the form of silverware.
Finally we are keen to see the start of a fans forum where all and any of you can ask any question you like and we can assure you all will be answered with honesty. Hopefully if we can get the first one of these running we can indeed make it a more regular occasion, perhaps 2-3 times a season. It is important that you as the paying fans get the opportunity to voice your opinions and find out exactly what is going on at the club. We are all in this together and we are all aiming for the same thing so we feel quite strongly that we should get together to discuss so we can all be singing from the same hymn sheet. Hopefully 1 or 2 of you may be willing to initiate this and perhaps if you can let Dek Rorie know we can get the ball rolling.
All the Best
Couller & Buc
Since we last wrote our league form has been good and enjoyable but this is tempered with 2 disappointing performances and subsequently results in the last 2 remaining cup competitions. We have enjoyed good hard fought victories over Deveronvale, Fort William, Turriff & Keith in the league but we have certainly been disappointed with the cup games v Fraserburgh and Lossiemouth last Saturday. Quite simply on both these occasions we haven’t been good enough to win the games and the players know that themselves. It has to be 1 of the aims next season to push on and reach cup finals in order to give ourselves the opportunity to win medals. The players are as frustrated as anyone as they know they had great opportunities in both competitions but they are gone now and we bounced back well after both results so there is plenty of room for optimism.
On the squad front since we last wrote we have seen the return of Graeme Stewart to Harlaw. This we feel will prove to be an excellent signing as “ Spiders “ attitude and commitment to his own game and others at training as well as on the pitch is fantastic. He provides the correct type of winning mentality at the club and is something we feel we were missingin some areas. We are convinced this can rub off on others in the squad and help make them better players also. We have seen it written and heard it said that perhaps he should not have been allowed to return to the club after his previous stint but there was never any question about this in our minds. Spider is first and foremost a cracking person and player who will help us get to where we want to be. He categorically did not want to leave Locos in the first place and please be rest assured that he refused the opportunity of a lot more money elsewhere in the Highland League to return. We have also taken our old goalie Stuart Gray back as cover for Andy and Daniel at a time where Andy was suspended and Daniel suffering from a slight injury. Having been caught out twice ( the 2nd time only through our inability to name Stuart due to not being registered before start of competition ) we don’t want to get caught out again potentially between now and the end of this season although as he is quick to remind us Andy “ the cat “ Low has a clean sheet to his name this season !
Disappointing to see that as we write this both supporters buses for the next 2 away fixtures are cancelled due to insufficient numbers. Of course we realize in these times that there are other priorities in life but it’s disappointing all the same at a time when the players are trying to push on and improve they need all the help they can get and nothing beats a good support getting behind you. Hopefully this is just a small blip and we’ll see you all again next Saturday for the home match against an ever improving Wick side. As always your support in good times and bad is greatly appreciated and it can never be underestimated how much the players need it. Hopefully in the not too distant future we can provide you with real reason to celebrate in the form of silverware.
Finally we are keen to see the start of a fans forum where all and any of you can ask any question you like and we can assure you all will be answered with honesty. Hopefully if we can get the first one of these running we can indeed make it a more regular occasion, perhaps 2-3 times a season. It is important that you as the paying fans get the opportunity to voice your opinions and find out exactly what is going on at the club. We are all in this together and we are all aiming for the same thing so we feel quite strongly that we should get together to discuss so we can all be singing from the same hymn sheet. Hopefully 1 or 2 of you may be willing to initiate this and perhaps if you can let Dek Rorie know we can get the ball rolling.
All the Best
Couller & Buc
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