Scorries boss waiting on Allan diagnosis
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WICK Academy forward Davie Allan will have his fitness monitored right up to the last moment before the squad set off on their Highland League trip to Inverurie on Saturday.
Allan has been an integral part of the Academy set-up over the past decade and is a key player for boss Tom McKenna.
The 30-year-old was all set to face title challengers Brora Rangers last weekend only to withdraw on the morning of the game having been in hospital with stomach pains.
While nothing serious was diagnosed, McKenna is keen to have one of his star players back in the fold but won't throw him in if the illness flares up again.
McKenna said: "Davie is hoping to come along to training and we'll see how the land lies. Obviously we will not risk him if what put him out last Saturday is still lingering on.
"It's not the first time he's had some bother with something like this. He said he had a pasta dish for dinner the previous night so maybe a gluten allergy might be the cause.
"Hopefully he'll have more information as to what was actually bothering him and he can make a return for us.
"One player who probably won't be in action in the near future will be Grant Steven. He missed last week with an injury in training and he might well be a long-term doubt.
"The way he went down when the injury happened – his knee popped out – suggests it will be a while before he's back.
"On the positive side, Sam Mackay was back in training and so too was Alan Hughes which was good to see."
We have to turn positive displays into good results.
The last time Wick visited Inverurie Locos was in a Scottish Cup tie that Academy lost 3-2 after being 2-0 up.
The Scorries have since slipped to 11th in the league while Locos have risen to third, are still in the cup and have bagged themselves a new manager – Andy Low – into the bargain.
McKenna added: "It's funny how a certain result has a knock-on affect. They have got themselves into a good position while we've fallen back.
"While it's been encouraging that the last two games have seen good performances, the fact of the matter is that we've no points to show for them.
"We have to turn positive displays into good results because 11th is not where we want to be. We want to be sixth, seventh or eighth and going four games without a win is not going to get us up the table.
"The cup game we had at Locos was a sore one to take but that's long since done and dusted.
"We want to make amends for what happened that day and hopefully we can come back up the road with both a performance and a result."
