Stirling Albion will make a long-awaited return to action as League 2 resumes after an absence of more than two months.
Kevin Rutkiewicz’s side host bottom club Brechin City in what will be their first Forthbank fixture since beating Cowdenbeath 1-0 back on December 12 with a Declan Byrne goal.
It’s the start of a hectic spell of games for the Binos, who have nine league matches to play between now and Tuesday, April 20 when they host Edinburgh City on the last day of the regular season.
The division will then split into a top and bottom five to provide a further four fixtures for each team, with the play-offs due to begin on Saturday, May 8.
It’s a schedule that will test the squad to the limit but Rutkiewicz, who will be without suspended midfielder Jack Leitch against Brechin, is just glad to have football back.
The long lay-off has allowed David Wilson to recover from injury and Dylan Bikey – who was named in the squad for the first time this season at Stenhousemuir on January 2 shortly before the lower leagues were suspended – could have a big part to play in the next few weeks. On-loan Hearts midfielder Chris Hamilton could make his debut against Brechin this weekend, having joined back in early January.
Stirling go into the game sitting fourth in the table, five points adrift of leaders Queen’s Park and behind promotion rivals Elgin City and Stranraer only on goal difference.
The Binos won 5-0 at Glebe Park in early November but Brechin boss Michael Paton has brought in a number of new players since the turn of the year and it’s likely to be a tougher test this time round.
Rutkiewicz said: “For me, the important thing was about getting football back and I wasn’t too worried about the format of the league. I’m a football guy and I wanted that Saturday buzz again, and hopefully the fans can follow in the not too distant future now the vaccine is being rolled out.
“It’s great to have the opportunity to play again and that has been the message from the boys all along because they felt a bit hard done by that things were closed down.
“The schedule will put a lot of demands on the players but we have tried to build a flexible squad over the past year and hopefully that should help us. For example, Ross McGeachie can slide back into central defence if required and we have used Kyle Banner in the middle of the park.
“Up front, Dylan joining the group gives us a healthy look and we have options in the wide areas too. However, we still need to be on the front foot and look to bring someone in if the right player is available.
“We will have to be sensible with how we use the squad and that’s the same for every manager.
“We don’t want to push players to the limit and will need to change things at times. We might need a bit of luck too and, of course, if you are in good form that helps people keep going.
“It will become a lot easier if we can get results and momentum behind us but there is likely to be a fair bit of rotation and that won’t be exclusive to Stirling Albion.”
