Manager on Thursday
Thursday, 10th Sep 201510/09/15: "Ian McCall is an experienced manager and he has brought in some good players. I am sure that he will look upon this game as a big game to get a result in."
Allan Johnston hopes that the signing of Mickael Antoine-Curier will fire up his already hot strike force. In his Thursday media briefing he said:-
"He can be a real handful but obviously he will have to work hard to get in the team because the boys are flying and he is a wee bit behind with not doing a pre season.
"In the reserve game during the week he scored two and made two so he is not that far behind. At Hamilton last year he was a real handful, he holds the ball in, he is a goal threat, he sets chances up so he is a good addition to the team but the strikers have been doing fantastically well this season. It adds a bit of competition for places."
The internationalists move to League One football has raised a few eyebrows but Allan Johnston revealed that talks between club and player had been ongoing:-
"He was a big part of Hamilton's success. We have been talking to him for a wee while. He wanted to stay at as high a level as he could but he sees this as a big club and a chance to progress, do well and have a successful season."
Turning to his other recent signing Shaun Rooney the manager was pleased to see him score in the Development League match at St Mirren on Tuesday night.
"It gives him a bit of confidence. You can see his pace going forward and that is what we are looking for our full backs to do. He is a strong runner and he is a threat at setpieces as well."
The match on Saturday brings Ayr United to East End Park and the manager is well aware of what his opponents are capable of since he watched them demolish Stenhousemuir 5-2 a week past Tuesday. Sandy Clark attended their game against Rangers so the management team recognise that Ayr have good players especially going forward.
"They have got a lot of movement, a lot of pace about them so we are going to have to defend well. We have to approach it the same as we do every game and go and try and win the game.
"Ayr United have improved massively compared to recent seasons, they are a transformed team playing with a lot of confidence so past games go for nothing. It will be totally different and we will have to be at our very best to get a win."
Saturday's 4-0 at Forfar achieved a shut out for just the second time in nine competitive matches this season. AJ would love to see this happen but knows that his defence will need to perform well:-
"They are a threat, they have the young boy Moore from Motherwell who really impressed me in the last game. They have Jordan Preston from Blackburn Rovers as well so they have a lot of pace and energy upfront but it is the same the other way. We have a lot of quality going forward and we will always score goals.
"Ian McCall is an experienced manager and he has brought in some good players. I am sure that he will look upon this game as a big game to get a result in."
On the availability front only Ryan Williamson and Lewis Spence are not fit for selection.
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