Good to be back home

”You saw in the game against Edinburgh City that we couldn`t really get the ball down because it was Astro, it was hot, dry and bouncy.

It’s good to be back home for the final match in Group H of the Betfred Cup claims Lewis Martin :-

”Being at home makes a difference. The pitch especially, it is a big pitch and a good playing surface. The way we want to play this year passing it, the pitch really helps us.

”You saw in the game against Edinburgh City that we couldn`t really get the ball down because it was Astro, it was hot, dry and bouncy. Here we can get our passing game going and hopefully that will work for us again on Saturday.”

Lewis admits that he does not know a lot about East Kilbride but has been soaking up the information gleaned by the management team from watching their Lowland League opponents:-

”Obviously the gaffer has told us a few bits and we gave been working on the shape, how they are going to play and how we are going to play.

”I have never seen them play but they have done well and got a good result the other night. It will be a tough game definitely and I am looking forward to it.”

East Kilbride arrive having taken five points from their first three games and with the chance to qualify for the next round. Lewis expresses a view which will be a commonly held one:-

”I know you wouldn`t have expected that at the start but it is good for the group that it has gone down to the last game. I am looking forward to it.”

He is also looking forward to coming up against two former team mates, one from his youth days at Rangers and one who played at Dunfermline in 2016 and 2017:-

”I played with Ryan Sinnamon at Rangers for a good few years and Craig Reid is the captain there.

”I haven`t played a Lowland League team before only Highland League Buckie Thistle twice.”

Lewis has been impressed by the emphasis and thoroughness of Stevie Crawford’s tactics:-

”He works a lot on formations. It is really good, when the boys go on the park we know what is expected from us, we know how to play, when to play, when to press and I think that showed in the first few games. It is really enjoyable and the boys are really buying into it.

”He gets information on to the pitch to us if we need to change things. In training as well we work on it all the time so when it works it is really good.”

Even only 23 years old, Lewis is the longest serving player in the first team squad. Still young but delighted to welcome new faces to the club for the coming season:-

”There are a lot of young boys and a few experienced boys as well. It is a good mix because we are all a close group, all friends and I think that shows on the park as well. We are all willing to work for each other and so far if I am honest, it has been great.”

Injury kept Lewis out of the game until April last season only getting 15 minutes as a sub in the final home a game against Morton and starting the final match at Inverness. He continued:-

”Last season was frustrating. I got fit at the end of the season and during the close season I just kept myself fit. I came back as fit as I possibly could and when I came back I was one of the fittest in the tests.”

Lewis agreed that pre season has been hard but again that is what he feels he needed. He wanted to get even fitter and now believes that he is probably the fittest that he has ever felt.

”It is the toughest pre season that I have had and even a few of the experiences boys have said that as well. It has worked for us because of the way we are pressing, we feel that we can go through the full game at a high tempo.

”The gaffer wanted to do a hard pre season and I think it has worked for us. Everybody is really fit.

”I played the first three games and to be honest it is good to be back playing games.” He hopes to keep going.

”There is competition for every position, near enough two people for every position. Now I have the shirt, every training session and every game I go out and do the best I can.”

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