Kirkwood aims for third league win on the spin
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WICK Academy manager Davie Kirkwood reckons that he and his opposite number this weekend have a lot in common.
The Scorries are off to Princess Royal Park to take on Deveronvale — and the Banff side have just recently appointed former Lossiemouth manager Charlie Charlesworth as gaffer.
Kirkwood said he thought Charlesworth would aim to push for an early win against Wick tomorrow to keep up ‘Vale’s strong record.
“It’s a challenge for Charlie but I tell you what — his teams are always organised, fit and capable of causing problems for any team,” said the Academy boss.
“I was in the same position as him last year so it will be a case of locking horns on Saturday and seeing who comes out on top. We’re going down to win.”
Kirkwood said that last season set a benchmark and, with Academy sitting pretty at the top of the league table, now is the time to capitalise and start using the confidence built during pre-season to push forward.
“We will be setting up the team to win every game this season,” he said.
“People look at form and pre-season and think that’s the way you’re going to play but what really matters is games under your belt.
“We’ll be going into every game with a positive frame of mind. We’ve got two games on the ladder and that’s a good base.”
No suspensions and no lasting pre-season scrapes means Kirkwood has a full team to choose from, minus a few aches from the hard summer ground and increased training.
“The pitches are quite dry and we’ve had game after game in pre-season,” he said.
“So that can take its toll on joints but we’ve not had any serious injuries.”
The Scorries manager said his aim for tomorrow is to see the game-plan executed from the starting whistle after the disappointing first half performance last weekend against Buckie Thistle.
“We didn’t have a good record at ‘Vale last year although they were cracking matches,” he said.
“But we’re hoping to take something away this year.”
Meanwhile the heat is on for Charlesworth, now in the opposition dugout.
The Banff side’s good previous record against the Scorries in previous encounters has set the bar high for the experienced Highland League manager who is still getting to grips with his new charges.
“I’m expecting a tough game,” said Charlesworth.
“At Lossie, we struggled to play a system that would beat Wick while ‘Vale have a pretty good record against Wick.
“So the pressure’s on me to keep that going.”
The ‘Vale manager said that he was adjusting to being on the “other side of the fence” at Princess Royal Park and was looking to give Academy a run for their money tomorrow.
“It’s about turning what you used to criticise into positives,” he said.
“I’m finding out different things every week and the lads are getting to understand me.
“The difficult bit is finding out what the best systems are to play with certain players and how they approach the game mentally.”
He added: “But so far, so good.”
Defender Connor Rennie turned his ankle last week against Strathspey Thistle and is likely to be benched this weekend.
But Charlesworth brought in several players at the start of the season which he reckons has added depth to the squad and which should provide him with some flexibility in the gap left by Rennie.
“Wick are flying high at the moment,” said Charlesworth.
“They are top of the league and deservedly so. Davie’s into his second season now so he’ll be fully aware of what he needs to do and how to approach games.
“It should make for an interesting game.”
