Manager on Friday

10/07/09: "It is nice to win but the pre season results are not all that important for me, it is all about getting some minutes into the players on the pitch.

Jim McIntyre confesses to knowing very little about tomorrow afternoon's opposite - Blyth Spartans. The jaunt to Northumberland is just to offer something different since this pre season all the other friendlies will be in Scotland:-

"We could have stayed here and maybe played another local game but we felt that a change of scenery would do us a world of good."

Looking back on the 1-0 win over Stirling Albion at Forthbank in midweek, the Manager commented:-

"It is nice to win but the pre season results are not all that important for me, it is all about getting some minutes into the players on the pitch.

"A few impressed; Joe (Cardle) did well, the back four looked good and Austin McCann showed that he could left centre back. I thought Dowie cruised through the game and looked very assured. In the middle of the park Glass's passing was magnificent, so was Burke's and Phinn's when they came on. You know what you are getting with Bayne and Kirk. They worked their backsides off but they could have been a wee bit more ruthless in terms of the opportunities. It was a good exercise and I was pleased with the way we passed the ball and the tempo that we passed it at."

Promising to take a squad of 20 south to meet Blyth on Saturday the Manager added:-

"It will be the same tomorrow. Only when you are approaching the end of pre season do you start to finalise what you think is going to be your starting team. Then it becomes important when you get into the two cup games. It is less important at this stage, it is just about game time for players and trying to get them through injury free."

Macca used 20 players in Wednesday night's first pre season match at Stirling but did not quite manage to avoid trouble. Steven Bell injured his ankle ligament in a hefty tackle from one of the many Stirling trialists but his gaffer confirmed that it was not as bad as they initially had feared and he is hopeful that Bell will be back for the pre season friendly against East Fife in ten days time.

"That's a much better scenario because at the time we thought we heard a crack. He is really unlucky because he was flying pre season and doing well in the game. He was only going to play 45 minutes anyway but it is disappointing that he is going to miss eight or nine days after all the hard work that he has put in."

The Manager knows that in Austin McCann and Calum Woods, he has two full backs who could play centre back:-

"That's the gamble that I am going to take this year because I have chosen to bring in wide players. With Kevin Harper and Simon Wiles out for the bulk of last season, there was little chance of getting at teams by going wide. We just didn't have that last season with those two being injured. I could have sacrificed another centre half and gone for another wide man knowing I have full backs."

Graeme Holmes came on at full back on Wednesday and his boss was just pleased to see him back in action:-

"It is nice to see 'Homer' back in amongst it. It will take him a few games before he feels anywhere near his match fitness. He has not played for a long time."

Jim McIntyre was pleased to have secured the signing of a new goalkeeper, Greg Fleming, on a one year loan from Oldham Athletic.

"He trained this morning. He is a goalkeeper I like and we have had to be patient on it, which we have been."