Rutherglen Glencairn boss Joe Pryce would have bitten your hand off had you offered seventh place at this point in the season – but insists they’re still not safe.
And he says a break from the West of Scotland League Premier Division has come at a good time, with only 11 fit players available for Saturday’s 2-1 win at Troon.
Pryce says Glencairn are in a good place just now, given what they’ve had to contend with this season with manager Willie Harvey battling Covid and not due to return until January, but they can’t rest on their laurels.
“We’re sitting seventh in the league and we’re obviously still not safe,” he said.
“When you think you’re seventh in the league and there are 20 teams, you would imagine you’re safe from relegation, but we’re nowhere close to that – there are still a lot of challenges ahead for us.
“Our aim at the start of the season was to stay up. The main goal is to be a Premier League club next season.
“We’re doing okay at the moment but we know there’s still a long way to go.
“We’re nowhere near the points total that’s required to stay in the league, so we have a target that we’ve set ourselves and we’re steadily amassing the points,so hopefully we can get there.
“The break gives us a wee chance to get our injured players back fit, and for those who have been playing through injury it gives us the opportunity for them to recover.
“When we come back in the new year, hopefully we’re a much stronger unit.”
Glens ended 2021 on a high as a Jack McIlveen double quickly overturned a Stephen Wilson penalty, and Pryce says they showed a lot of character.
Pryce added: “The boys played very well, and were the better side for the majority of the match.
“Troon had a wee spell at the start of the second half when they got a dubious penalty, but it says a lot about the players and their resilience that they didn’t let their heads go down, they just rolled their sleeves up and got on with it.
“We were the better team and thoroughly deserved the three points – there was no doubt about that.
“The break has come at just the right time for us.
“On Saturday we only had 11 fit players – we had to take three of our under-21s down to fill the bench for us – so it was a really great effort from the players.
“They were terrific.”
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