Wick Academy will go into Buckie trip with positivity, says manager Manson
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Wick Academy will be approaching this weekend's match against Buckie Thistle with "positivity" despite having several players missing.
Having had no game last Saturday, the Scorries resume their Highland League campaign with a tough assignment against the team who are second in the table.
Gary Manson's side will go into the early kick-off at Victoria Park hoping they can improve on their record of one win, seven draws and five defeats in their opening 13 league fixtures.
“The boys should be feeling fine," Manson said. "They've had a sort of mid-season break now so hopefully come Saturday they're raring to go.
“Buckie are one of the strongest teams in the league so it'll be another tough test away from home. But we've competed reasonably well with the teams at the top end of the table so we'll go down there with positivity.
“We'll be in good spirits and will try to get the three points.”
Manson has had to contend with a series of injuries to key players this season, with Richard Macadie and Alan Farquhar out for the long term, and it could be another month before midfielder Sean Campbell is ready to return. He hurt his hamstring in the league defeat to Brora Rangers on October 6.
"Sean is still out with the injury he picked up against Brora," Manson said. "We don't want to rush him with it being a hamstring injury so I would imagine he'll be probably another four weeks away.
"There is no point in rushing him back. We'll just take our time with him and make sure he's 100 per cent when he comes back."
Defender Andy Hardwick will miss at least the next two games because of his work commitments.
Manson said: “We're just waiting on a few other boys, but as per usual we'll have probably four or five missing. It just seems to be the way it's going at the moment.”
Striker Steven Anderson, who returned from Rothes in the summer, has been looking increasingly sharp and has been scoring regularly.
"He took a wee bit of time getting up to speed but in these last four or five games he has been looking really good, so hopefully that continues," Manson said.
The 37-year-old manager himself may be making another appearance on the park, if he feels it will benefit the team.
“I'll definitely be fit and available for selection," he said. "I'll be good to go if required.”
Academy's last meeting with Buckie was on November 28 last year – the first day of the delayed 2020/21 season which ended up being cut short by the pandemic.
The Jags won 3-2 at Harmsworth Park that afternoon, with Ryan Campbell and Craig Gunn getting the Wick goals. The Scorries ended up playing only two league matches and two Scottish Cup ties before the campaign came to a halt.
Academy's next home game will be against Inverurie Locos on Saturday, November 6.
Buckie will be aiming to step up their title challenge when Academy visit Victoria Park on Saturday.
The Jags were beaten 4-1 away to League Two leaders Kelty Hearts in the second round of the Scottish Cup last weekend and will now focus on trying to close the gap on league leaders Fraserburgh.
Graeme Stewart’s men are among a clutch of teams on 28 points, 12 behind the Broch. After Wick, their opponents are Nairn County, Strathspey Thistle, Clachnacuddin, Lossiemouth, Turriff United, Keith and Deveronvale.
“If we cut out some of the silly mistakes, I’m confident we will win most of these games," Stewart said.
“I’ve set the challenge out to the boys – we need to see where we are at the end of this year and we need to be within touching distance.
“When it comes to January, I want us to still be in with a chance of pushing for that league. If that is to happen, we need to go and win a lot of these games now.
“We should be four or five points better off than we are, but it’s something we can still claw back.
“We want to go on a run and put the pressure on."
