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23/7/07
Pre-Season Training: Rain Welcomes the Players Back
The Nairn County players reported back to Station Park today for their first training session of the pre-season. The sun and heat which are usually dominant at this time of year were replaced by persistent rain and a chilly breeze, but that didn't manage to dampen spirits in the camp. New signing from Elgin City Chris Finnigan met his new team-mates for the first time and he was joined by four trialists being put through their paces with the squad.
Manager Les Fridge spoke before things got underway and discussed his thoughts on the coming season, looked back over the previous campaign and touched on the changes to his playing staff among other things. He said: "It is nice to get back into it and I have been speaking to a couple of the boys over the summer and I think that they are itching to get back too. I think once you have had a couple of weeks lay off you then start to miss it. |
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"I am a great believer in working with the ball. I think the old days of running up and down beaches with tyres until you drop is very much old school. I think you can do a lot more work in different ways and make it interesting for the boys."
He added: "I thought last season was a tremendous season. We got to two semi finals and another cup final and we were very unlucky not to retain the North of Scotland Cup. Obviously there was circumstances surrounding that but even just to get to the cup final was a major achievement. We reached the semi-final of the League Cup again towards the end of the season and we also moved up three places in the league to finish as the top north team. Overall, I think it was a tremendous season for the club." |
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| Jason Robertson gets the hard work done watched by Marc Macdonald and John Campbell |
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Fridge refused to set himself and his players any targets for the new campaign but he was keen to stress that making improvement in all areas would continue to be the name of the game. He said: "I'm not one to publicly say "I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that" but I have always said we are looking to try and progress every year and we have done that in each of the last three seasons. Granted, it is going to get harder for various reasons. You can't keep progressing all the time and you will come to a certain level."
The manager also stated that being able to bring in players was more difficult now than when he took up the Nairn hotseat three yars ago. He said: "It is getting more and more difficult to find new players and that is becoming more evident. It's not just ourselves but I think the majority of the north teams are finding that. Any player that is available in the area is being chased by ourselves, Forres, Clach, Brora, Fort William and Wick and on top of that there are Elgin City and Buckie looking for players in and around Inverness. But we brought through a lot of young boys who featured last year like Wayne Mackintosh, Jason Robertson, Gregg Main and Marc Macdonald and they did very well. So the road we might be forced to go down is to bring on our own youngsters which is great for the club and great for the town with local boys involved but that will take time." |
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In two-and-a-half weeks time the players will be back in match action for the first time when they take on Livingston at Station Park. It's the first of four games of what looks to be a tough pre-season schedule. Fridge said: "You can play games against lesser teams and bang in a lot of goals and gain confidence but I guarantee you half of the team will switch off. I don't disagree that it gives you a bit of confidence and we are trying to fit in a couple of games against junior sides but at the same time I think you will get more out of the players when they're playing better opposition because they have got to concentrate and be switched on. They are playing boys who play at a higher level and I think you get more out of that. I don't worry too much about the result. It's more about the performance and what you get out of the game." |
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| Duncan Jones, Iain Brooks and new signing Chris Finnigan have a rest |
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| Then on August 4 the league season gets underway for real when Nairn travel to Fort William in a repeat of Fridge's first fixture in charge three years which ended in defeat. He said: "I have already been reminded of that game several times. We got beat 3-2 and it's a very difficult place to go at any time regardless of where they are in the league. Any team - on their day - is capable of getting a result, especially at home, moreso on the opening day of the season. It's not a definite three points by any manner of means. But we'll try and prepare right over the pre-season and be up for it. I would probably say we are the favourites but on the opening day of the season, anything can happen and I did say at the end of last season Fort William would come good and get a result because they were playing good football. Then after we played them down there they beat Clach at Clach Park so with it being the opening game at the start of the season with everybody up for it, it will be difficult." |
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Fridge will be without at least two faces from last season's squad as he announced that Michael Sanderson will not have his contract renewed while Darren Shallicker has already gone to Elgin. Fridge said: "Darren was very keen to come back to us. He's 33 and the opportunity came up to play in Division Three and he felt it was his last chance to do that and that's fine. We wish him all the best because he has done a very good job for us. We let Michael Sanderson go at the end of last season. Again, he done ok for us but we have a lot of young boys coming through now and I decided to part company with him. We are still waiting to hear what is happening with David MacRae."
Fridge revealed he is keen to bolster his squad further having already secured the capture of Finnigan. |
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| Scott Nicholl goes through his paces |
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He said: "I'm hoping to have another couple of new faces around the place. Like I say, it's getting more and more difficult to do so but I always like to bring in a few new faces to freshen things up. I also think Chris Finnigan will be a very good addition for us. He's a very versatile player, he's been full-time and he has played in the Third Division and hopefully that will be to out benefit."
Finnigan wasn't the only new squad member on display at training as Fridge confirmed four youngsters will move up from the club's youth team. He said: "Ross Mackenzie came into the squad towards the end of last season and did very well. He came on at Fort William and didn't look out of place. Lee Haines, Paul Morganti and Grant Fraser are coming up as well and we'll have to monitor the situation. There's no guarantee that they are going to walk into the first team because it is a very difficult process but we'll see how the situation develops."
The manager also confirmed the permanant appointment of Mike Hendry as his assistant manager. Fridge said: "Mike came in last year when Fridgey left for New Zealand towards the end of February and it is great to have him about the place. He's a local guy and has done well for us. I get on great and work well with him so I'm delighted that he has agreed to come back this year and agreed to be my number two."
Fridge took time out during the summer to visit his brother Mike in New Zealand and was happy to report that all was well with the former Nairn assistant. He said: "He's doing very well. He is really enjoying himself and the football is going well. His team are sitting second in the league the last I heard and I think their game was called off today. He's asking for everyone and sends his regards and he always checks the Nairn results." |
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