Johnstone Burgh boss Jamie McKim is adamant his side will attack high-flying Arthurlie in this weekend’s derby.
That is despite going into this Saturday’s trip to Dunterlie Park on the back of a disappointing home defeat to Forth Wanderers.
Burgh enjoyed the lion’s share of possession against Forth on Saturday but couldn’t turn that dominance into goals, with the visitors pinching all three points thanks to a clinical first-half strike.
The result saw the Keanie Park side slip back to ninth in the Conference A table, with a daunting trip to face local rivals Arthurlie, who sit second, up next.
And even though ‘Lie are yet to suffer a single defeat so far this season, Burgh manager McKim is determined to take the game to their hosts as his side look to plunder all three points in Barrhead.
McKim told Express Sport: “The Forth game was very frustrating because we had about 80 per cent of the possession.
“We totally dominated the game but we couldn’t break them down, and what made it worse was that we knew it was coming.
“Every time we’ve played them over the last few years it’s been exactly the same story. We knew they’d sit in and try to frustrate us and it worked.
“They took their chance in the first half and then had three points to defend. They battled hard but we missed a few golden opportunities where we could have been 2-1 or even 3-1 up at half-time.
“We’ve got to move on from it this week though because we’ve got a massive game up next against Arthurlie.
“We’ve got to approach that game looking to win it.
“I know they’re on a great run at the moment but we’ve gone toe-to-toe with them plenty of times recently.
“They’re not big, scary monsters and if we turn up I genuinely believe we can get what we want from the game.
“If you can’t get up for derby games then you really shouldn’t be playing football.
“The boys know what it means to the club and we’ll get after them from the first whistle.
“We’re planning to take the game to them, try to unsettle them and then take it from there.”
Burgh have enjoyed a mixed start to the current season, picking up five wins while suffering four losses so far.
McKim believes team selection has been the key factor to their inconsistency, with the manager struggling to pick the same starting XI each week for various reasons.
He explained: “We need to get a run together but inconsistency of team selection is killing us at the moment.
“We’ve not had the same team out each week, which is partly my fault as well as having a lot of injuries to key players to deal with.
“It’s been a tough season so far and while I’m not looking for excuses, I am looking for more commitment from the players I have available.
“We need everyone pulling together and if we get some of our key players back in I know we can still go on to have a really good season.
“We’re hoping to have two or three big players back in and available for the Arthurlie game, which would be a massive boost for us. It’s always harder when you’re struggling to pick your strongest team.”
