Ahead of our Scottish Cup second-round tie against Glasgow University, we caught up with manager Brian Reid.
“You cannot underestimate any team in this competition,” Reid commented. “It doesn’t matter to me what league they are in because on the day anything can happen. When a lower-division team faces you it can be easy to lose focus but we certainly haven’t done that.
“I watched them a few weeks back against Yoker when we had a free matchday and I was impressed with what I saw. I think it would be disrespectful to say it was a favourable tie. On the other hand, they will look at it and think it is a winnable one.
“In my career I’ve been fortunate enough to lead teams like Ayr United into the latter rounds of the Scottish Cup and it really can change the dynamic of the club’s season. Of course, money comes into play but actually the way it can galvanise a squad is just as enticing.
“The supporters will want to dream about another tie against a big club and that is possible if we make it through on Saturday. Last year we went down to Ayr United in the third round and lost out on the day – but we matched them and we should have won in my opinion.
“It isn’t beyond our capabilities to reach the fourth round, but in order to even think about that we have to only focus on Saturday. If we play to our best then I am confident that we will win the match.”
“We have to be more ruthless when presented with good chances,” Reid admitted. “At the weekend against Dumbarton we played well and made a number of opportunities. “Charlie Reilly scored a wonderful goal but we cannot rely on him for a moment of magic.
“Blair Malcolm missed two chances within a few seconds that should have hit the back of the net, but others have been guilty of that too. There is a lot of football to be played and we have a great mindset in the dressing room so I am sure we can turn it around.”
“Our next two league matches are at home against Stenhousemuir and Stirling Albion and that on paper is tough but we to start winning regularly at Cliftonhill (The Reigart Stadium) as we have drawn too many games.
“We beat Bonnyrigg last time out so we can take confidence from that but even then we should have been out of sight in a sense. We need to be smart about how we play and ensure we stay hard to beat while finding a way to score goals.”
“We have the third best goals conceded record in the league which is really pleasing,” Reid said. “Only the top two have conceded less than us and 14 goals in 11 games isn’t too bad at all when considering the goals per game in the division is so high.
“Losing goals cost us for a long time even before I came into the club and it was a massive problem we have managed to stem. The goal now is to strike the right balance and start scoring. We do attack teams and create chances, we just don’t put them away. We aren’t a defensive team at all. Direct in how we go about things but we play to score goals.
“We lost James McGowan and that was a big blow to the backline. In recent times Sean Fagan has been out and he is arguably our key player so to still be so resolute is outstanding really.”
“Liam Fagan has come in and really made an impact,” Reid commented. “He has been out for a long time with a cruciate injury and has had to work so hard to get back into the game. He felt hard done by being released by his old club.
“I know what it is like having experienced the same injury and it eventually ending my career. He is getting his confidence back and our fitness coach David Johnstone is working him hard. Getting most of the game against Dumbarton was good for him.
“He is the spitting image of his brother and for an old guy like me you could easily mix them up! Even in terms of play style and traits, they are similar which is a good thing for us. If we could get another Sean Fagan on the pitch then we are going to be pleased with that.”
“I am getting close to waking up in the middle of the night shouting striker,” Reid joked. “It is the bane of my life at the moment. We want to bring in a striker and it is something I am working on day and night. It is difficult because the loan market is shut.
“We don’t want to bring in someone for the sake of it. They need to be an asset to the team and be able to come in and make an impact. The hunt is very much still on.”
