Manson looks for ‘shock win’ in first home game opener in eight years for Wick Academy
The prospect of a home game on the opening day of the Highland League season has been long overdue for Wick Academy, but boss Gary Manson believes it will still be a shock if they are to get a result against likely title contenders Fraserburgh.
The Scorries’ boss was in good spirits ahead of his side’s final summer friendly, which saw them run out 9-1 winners against North Caledonian League side St Duthus in Tain on Tuesday.
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The game added to a pre-season portfolio which has already seen big wins over Wick Groats and Orkney this month.
Manson was keen to praise the commitment of his young squad, one year on from a rebuild which has seen Academy reshaped and in high spirits having achieved a 12th-place finish – four places higher in the table than in the previous campaign.
“Pre-season has been good,” Manson said. “The only frustration was the cancellation of a friendly on Sunday, but we made the best of it and split the squad up and got some of the under-18s involved and had a game between ourselves, which was good.
“Last year, I had to take in 10 players and pretty much start the squad from scratch. But this year I’ve only taken in three, and we’ve had continuity and good numbers at training.
“The three we’ve taken in this year are young boys who are just setting out on their careers. It’ll take them time, there’s no doubt about that. We saw that last year. It took us until Christmas before we got going.
“We can’t afford to do that this year. We have to hit the ground running if we want a successful season.
“You never know, the last four years we’ve had quite long-term injuries, and if something like that happens we might need to look for more players. But the squad we have just now should be strong enough as long as nothing happens.”
Manson says he has all but concluded any new signing business ahead of the season, having added under-18 graduate George Ewing, former Ross County forward Kieran MacGregor, and ex-Orkney midfield man Callan Jessiman.
His options have also been boosted by the return of Brandon Sinclair and Davie Allan following long-term injuries.
Midfielder James Mackay, meanwhile, remains on the sidelines awaiting an operation.
A stern test awaits Wick as they welcome Fraserburgh to Harmsworth Park on Saturday, and the manager is well aware that his team will go into the game as underdogs.
“It’s good to have a home game,” Manson said. “I think it’s the first home game we’ve had in eight years on the first day of the season. Normally we’re off to Fraserburgh or Banks O’ Dee or one of these places.
“So it’ll be good to start with a home game. If we could have hand-picked it, we probably wouldn’t have picked Fraserburgh, but we need to play them all at some time.
“It’ll be a good game, and if we can pull off a shock it’ll make for a good start to the season.”
Highland League fixtures for Saturday, July 27: Brora Rangers v Turriff United; Deveronvale v Inverurie Locos; Formartine United v Banks O’ Dee; Forres Mechanics v Rothes; Huntly v Strathspey Thistle; Keith v Brechin City; Lossiemouth v Clachnacuddin; Wick Academy v Fraserburgh (all 3pm).
