Albion Rovers boss Brian Reid has told his Cliftonhill kids to step up and make a name for themselves this season – because there will be opportunities.
The former Rangers, Morton and Queen of the South defender says he wants to bring in six more players this summer, but that still only leaves him with a core squad of 16, so some of the younger lads will get an opportunity.
He said: “I’m probably round about the 10-mark with players, and I’d probably need about another half-dozen at the moment.
“We’re going to have to run with a smaller squad with the budget and stuff like that, and we’ll use our reserves to boost it from there, so that’s where we’re at.
“When you’re running with 16 players and one of those is a goalie, it’s not a big squad.
“Most clubs will be looking at 18 or 20 but we’ll be looking at fewer, because of the budget restrictions.
“I’ve been keeping a good eye on the young reserves and I was quite impressed with some of them, so hopefully that will be a wee boost they can give us as well.
“I’ve spoken to a few of them and told them it’s a good opportunity for them, and if they’re increasing the number of subs you can use, that gives them a chance to get some game-time as well.
“With a small squad like that you’re hoping you’re not going to get too many injuries or suspensions, but it’s inevitable that it will happen, so there will be opportunities for players to stake a claim."
Reid has some time to build his squad before League 2 kicks off on October 17, but says he might be dealing with some players who are in the last chance saloon.
“I’m confident I’ll get the players in, but it can be difficult,” he said.
“There are a lot of players out there that we’ve spoken to, some are saying they’ll wait and see what happens, but for me that’s a bit of a gamble.
“There will be a lot of players who are looking for clubs that, unfortunately for them, have no money left now.
“I’m working on it daily, so hopefully by the time pre-season comes back in September or into October, we’ll have a full squad.
“I always like to keep a wee bit of money back because there might be a few that are in the position where they were looking to get something and didn’t. That then plays into our hands, because they maybe say the money’s not great, but it’s better than nothing, but I hope to have most of the squad done by then.”
Meanwhile, Reid is bemused that the Scottish Government are talking about bringing supporters back to stadiums in November – because he sees people out in pubs and restaurants.
“I’m still hoping they see sense and let people in to the stands in October,” he said. “It’s a bit concerning when they’re talking about delaying it even longer.
“People are in pubs, beer gardens, restaurants, they’re in supermarkets or even shopping malls, mingling about, so I don’t see why we can’t have that at football stadiums.
“I think our average crowd last season was about 300, and that could be comfortably spread round the place – we would comfortably do that at Cliftonhill, and it’s probably the same at other clubs, certainly in the lower leagues.
“I hope it does get back to normality as soon as it can, because it can have a big impact and it doesn’t make much sense when they’re going into pubs and things like that.”
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