Six points would be best Christmas present for Wilson
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
ALL Barry Wilson wants for Christmas is to garner all six points from the north derby double header and have a happy new year knowing Wick Academy are still in contention for their first Highland League title.
Tomorrow he will go head-to-head with his predecessor and former Raith Rovers team-mate Davie Kirkwood when Brora Rangers take on Wick Academy at Dudgeon Park.
Seven days later the teams will meet again at Harmsworth Park in what will has been billed as the two biggest games in the fixture’s history, with excitement building amongst the fans.
Wilson said he had no interest in the controversy which surrounded Kirkwood’s departure and he wanted to make sure his players were also in the same mindset by concentrating on two wins from the clashes.
"I don’t care what went on earlier this season as it didn’t involve me, apart from me getting his job," he said.
"I know Davie pretty well as I played with him in Kirkcaldy almost 20 years ago.
"All I want to do is concentrate on the football. I accept there will be a bit of tension about what happened but hopefully that is a thing of the past and everybody will concentrate on the game in hand."
Wick Academy’s hopes of retaining their place at the top of the league were dashed when heavy rain flooded Harmsworth Park, leading to the postponement of their match with Deveronvale, with Cove replacing them at the top of the table with a 3-2 comeback win at Lossiemouth.
The managerial team did put the weekend to good use when they took a trip to Sutherland to see Brora lose 3-1 to Buckie Thistle.
But despite his side thrashing Buckie 7-0 at Victoria Park two weeks ago, Wilson is taking nothing for granted.
He said that his team needed to be aware of the danger posed by the Sutherland ’Gers. "I saw some positive and negative things about the way Brora play," said Wilson.
"There are things I feel that we could work on and exploit and things we need to be wary about, but it was a worthwhile exercise and while we would rather have been playing Deveronvale, it was a productive day and we got a good look at them. After the huge win at Buckie Thistle I wanted to keep the momentum going and it was disappointing that we were unable to play at the weekend.
"The pitch passed the inspection on Friday night and then you wake up to the game being called off.
"It was a big game for us as we’ve only played at Harmsworth Park five times in 14 league games this season.
"It is important for us to get some home games in terms of revenue to invest into the club."
One note of concern for Wick is a flu bug that is running through the team with three players a major doubt for the starting line-up, on top of Gary Weir being on a trip to Australia.
Wilson said that defeats would not be a disaster for Wick as he believed they could bounce back, but said they had no intention on losing any ground in the title race. "It’s only a six pointer because there is two games involved. Brora have already lost seven games this season so they can’t lose to afford any more if they want to keep up the pace," he said.
"But I don’t think it will be a be-all or end-all for Wick as we are in a good position, but if we play like we did at Buckie we should be confident."
