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Thurso manager says he would have preferred more time to get ready for North Caledonian kick-off


By Alan Hendry

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Thurso manager Stevie Reid: 'Preparation-wise it has not been ideal.' Picture: James Gunn
Thurso manager Stevie Reid: 'Preparation-wise it has not been ideal.' Picture: James Gunn

Thurso manager Stevie Reid admits he would have preferred more time to prepare for the new North Caledonian League campaign.

The season starts on Saturday with the Vikings travelling to Morrison Park for a Caithness derby against Halkirk United.

With the official Caithness summer league scrapped because of Covid concerns, some amateur clubs have been taking part in a friendly tournament and Reid says this has had an impact on Thurso's build-up.

His counterpart at Halkirk United, Ewan McElroy, says his side's pre-season has been "a little disjointed" and he too reckons it will take a couple of weeks to get up to speed.

Reid said: "We could have done with starting in another week or two to give a bit of extra time. We've not had the best preparation with this friendly league that has been ongoing.

"That has put the kibosh on things for training purposes and getting everyone together at the same time.

"That has curtailed us a wee bit. Ideally I would have liked another couple of weeks maybe once this friendly thing is done so we can get everyone together and get a good few sessions and maybe get a friendly squeezed in somewhere.

“Unfortunately that has not happened. We've had one training session and one little bounce game against Castletown and that is it.”

The Covid-disrupted 2020/21 North Caledonian campaign, which came to an end in June, was split into two divisions but now all 12 clubs will be competing together. That means the Caithness teams will be facing a few unfamiliar teams who entered the second tier at the start of last term.

“Our second game has changed – it was originally Golspie at home but they're playing in the Scottish Cup on the 28th so we're now at home to Loch Ness who are a team we haven't faced, so straight away we're getting into the unknown.

"The performances in the last few games of last season were really, really good. I'd love to think we can kick on from that but realistically, as I say, preparation-wise it has not been ideal.

“Yes, they've been playing games and will be up to a level of fitness, but they know themselves they need to be fitter for what's coming ahead. It's going to be difficult.”

Reid is pleased at least to see that striker Marc Macgregor has been in good scoring form during the summer series of games. “Marc has been playing regularly and has found the net a load of times, so his confidence and touch and sharpness will be up there," the manager said. "That's a big bonus.

“I'd like to think we can get off to a good solid start if possible and build up a bit of momentum.

“We have to look at getting a few extra bodies in for cover. There is no doubt about that, so we're working on that as well.

“We are hoping that changing rooms will be allowed but we're waiting for confirmation on guidelines."

Halkirk United manager Ewan McElroy says progression is his main target for the season. Picture: James Gunn
Halkirk United manager Ewan McElroy says progression is his main target for the season. Picture: James Gunn

Halkirk United similarly will be looking to bring in a few additional players in the coming weeks. Goalkeeper Lewis Gallacher and winger Ben Gordon are away to university but otherwise there are no major changes to the squad.

"Being honest, compared to last year pre-season has been a little disjointed," McElroy said. "With an alternative summer programme this year we have had a later start than usual and I would suspect it will take a couple weeks to get the boys up to full speed."

McElroy says his main target for the season is progression.

"We want to continue to improve both on and off the pitch and push our current group of boys as much as we can," he said. "We knew when we joined that this was not going to be an overnight fix and have been really pleased with the attitude and improvement made so far."

He expects the season opener to be closely contested.

"Like the majority of previous games while here I suspect it will be a close game," McElroy said. "Thurso have an experienced core and will no doubt fancy themselves to compete for the title this year.

"Despite not being up to full speed, everyone involved with the club is really looking forward to Saturday and hopefully we can get a performance to match this."

North Caledonian League fixtures for Saturday: Alness v Invergordon; Golspie v Inverness Athletic; Halkirk United v Thurso; Nairn County A v St Duthus; Scourie v Bonar Bridge.


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