Kirkwood’s ranting days are now over
THE days of Wick Academy manager Davie Kirkwood ranting and raving at his players are over as he is determined to draw on the positives after his side’s five-goal thrashing at Nairn County.
After a heart-to-heart with his squad, the manager said he no longer needs to raise his voice to let the players know he is unhappy. A meeting took place during the club’s training session on Monday night to find out the reasons behind the Scorries’ humiliating defeat at Station Park.
Kirkwood told the John O’Groat Journal the squad knows him well enough to know how he feels about poor performances and when changes need to be made.
"We spent 45 minutes in the dressing room speaking about what exactly happened on Saturday," he said.
"The players had the opportunity to get a few things off their chest and it was a positive meeting which ended in us having a good laugh. Wick Academy is a project in progress and what we are trying to achieve is not going to happen overnight. But I am no longer going to shout at them at half-time or after the match, as they now know when I’m unhappy I will make changes during the match and to the starting line-up."
Despite suffering their heaviest defeat of the season, the manager said he is pleased with how his players responded in the second half after going two down.
"The five shots that Nairn had were probably contenders for goal of the season," he said. "Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say there is nothing you can do about that, but losing by five goals was a one-off. We came out in the second half and changed a few things to get back into the game and I thought that we responded
well.
"We were the better team after the interval and that was the Wick Academy I have come to expect seeing."
He also gave praise to left back Ross Allan, describing him as the best Scorrie on the park against Nairn County.
At 18 years of age, Kirkwood said the teenager has a bright future ahead of him and he won’t be surprised if clubs at a higher level come knocking on the door at the end of the season.
Academy head to Banff to take on Deveronvale in the Highland League Cup tomorrow without Stewart Ross who is out through injury and Craig Shearer who is unavailable.
Deveronvale will have a full-strength squad going into the game, including James Blanchard who is rated as the best goalkeeper in the Highland League and pulled off a heroic performance in the last meeting between the two sides.
Manager Scott Anderson said after being pipped at the post on the final day of last season, he is disappointed his side is out of the title race with 10 games still to play. But he wants to add more silverware to Deveronvale’s cabinet after winning the Aberdeenshire Cup in September.
"This remains the only cup in Highland League competition that we have never won and it is a big priority for us," he said.
"It is a tough draw to be paired against Wick Academy in the second round but we have home advantage which should be a factor for us.
"Last time we faced each other Wick had the upper hand for the first hour, but we came back strongly and took our chances to deservedly pick up the three points.
"But we know exactly what Wick Academy are all about and have a lot of respect for how they play, but we have a game plan
and I have confidence in my players to do the job."