Manager ahead of Dumbarton

23/11/12: JJ - Andy Geggan and Jordan McMillan doubts for Saturday. Stephen Jordan still out.

Jim Jefferies is anxiously waiting to see how Andy Geggan and Jordan McMillan recover from a virus that kept them out of training on Thursday.

"The physio has been off earlier in the week and I can only hope that nobody else gets infected with it. Stephen Jordan is still out but is coming on, he will train next week but the game against Dumbarton has just come around too quick for him. We have still to make a decision about Ryan Thomson because he has bruising after last week's game. He had it looked at and is just waiting on a letter to let him know if they are going to set his nose or just leave it. We will see how he feels about it because any knock on it will be very painful. I don't want to risk losing him for the following week as well because that is a cup tie.

"Stephen Jordan missed a game, then trained and he was fine on the Thursday - it was a tough session but you always say, wait until the Friday to see if there is a reaction, and he got a reaction. As soon as he went to the warm up he felt it and then there was a free week which was great but when he returned and went through another tough session, he did everything on the Friday up until the last few minutes in a game of young ones versus old ones. He just turned sharpish at the end and felt a twinge

"That was prior to the Partick Thistle game and if he had come through that he might only have lasted five minutes. Training is not the same as a full bodied game on the Saturday. He would probably have done more damage, so it was probably a good thing that we knew before the game, even though we were desperate to have him."

Stephen can expect a strong fitness test on Monday and if he comes through that he will be back in training on Tuesday. Jim is first and foremost looking forward to meeting Dumbarton under new manager Ian Murray.

"They went to Cowdenbeath and picked up a great away victory so it shows you that they have it in them. I know that they got well turned over last week but Morton are a good side. It is all about what we do; if we play to our best then hopefully it will be too much for them. If we don't there is the risk that they will capitalise.

"We got a great boost last week after the poor result against Partick - not just the result but we played really well in the first half and didn't deserve to be 1-0 down. We showed character to come back and won the game comfortably even though what happened. If it had been eleven v eleven it would have still have been the same outcome. It was probably the right game for us after Partick, the fans were great and got right behind us even when we went one down. They knew from the way we were playing that we were the better side and they encouraged us to get back into the game."

The Manager acknowledged that the effort being made by fans and everyone at the Club is a major spur going into this league game. Gavin Masterton and one of the new directors went to speak to the players last Friday. They explained the situation and got all their questions answered:-

"They were very honest with us and told us up front what was going on. There was a delay in paying wages but Gavin has assured us that in the next couple of weeks everything will be fine. For this month he would keep us up to date and tell us some time next week where they stand. He has assured the players that it is just a cash flow problem with the lack of games but from December onwards we will be back on an even keel. It is all that he can do. The boys are happy with what they heard; they don't have to fret or worry about what is going to happen. The owners have been good enough to tell them this is what we are trying to do. Our part is to just keep doing it on the pitch and that will make it easier.

"With all the initiatives to get more fans along we will want to put a good performance on to make sure that they come back. That's the secret and if we do that we will appreciate the extra fans coming out and we will do our best to put on a good show and get a good result."

Jim Jefferies drew parallels with what he had seen happen at Hearts where supporters were galvanised when faced with difficulties off the park:-

"They got a full house against St Mirren. I am not saying we will get a full house but if there is a better atmosphere it helps the boys as well."

The Manager hopes that the Under 20s cup tie v Montrose on Sunday will also be a good fund raiser to assist the youth squads trip to Cyprus in January:-

"If the fans come along in their numbers it will help, but we have to put on a good show on Saturday to encourage that."