Armadale Thistle gaffer Derek Strickland says he won’t read too much into their pre-season victory over Linlithgow Rose.
But he does admit it’s a positive sign for the Volunteer Park outfit as they head into their maiden East of Scotland Football League campaign.
The Dale came back from a goal down to defeat Brown Ferguson’s side 3-1 on Tuesday night – with former Rose star Colin Strickland netting the third in his first game against his former club.
Speaking to the Courier, the Thistle boss said: “The result is important for the supporters and the players as well. You obviously want to win every game you play but the reason we took the game was to play top-class opposition and push ourselves.
“It was the third game of pre-season for us so we came into it with a bit of game time in the players’ legs but we’re still not up to speed.
“I thought we were excellent and showed that we’ve got a lot of good aspects to the team and a lot of promising things heading into the season but it is only pre-season and you can’t read too much into it.
“Ultimately, the aim is to be ready for July 17 when the season starts – and that was another step towards that, but it will certainly give the guys confidence.”
Unsurprisingly given the Covid situation, the boss admits it’s been far from a regular pre-season, given they had not
kicked a ball for nearly six months, but says there’s plenty of positive signs as he looks to add to the squad.
He said: “Pre-season hasn’t been the best it could be, but that’s no fault of anyone.
“We’d been away for so long it’s hard to judge fitness levels and to get them up to speed maybe as quickly as you would in a normal pre-season, but we’re getting there.
“I’m still looking to bring in a couple of players because we’re a bit light in some areas.
“I’m delighted with the players we have at the club just now and think there’s talent all over the park, but it would be good to add numbers and strengthen what we already have at the club.”
The Dale will start life as a senior club in the eighth tier East of Scotland Conference X alongside seven other West Lothian outfits that made the move to the senior ranks and says he’s prepared for a challenging campaign.
“It’s largely the same league that we’re used to,” he said.
“But this time there is added incentive now in the East of Scotland in that you can get promoted if you have a good season, which wasn’t the case in the Juniors.
“It’s going to be a long season and we’re under no illusions at all because it’s going to be a very hard league.
“All we can do is make sure we’re ready to go for the start of it and then play to the best of our ability when the competitive games start and then let’s see where that takes us.”
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