Left back mountain

Aug 8 2008 by Gordon Bannerman, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

IT goes against the grain but Derek McInnes is having to be patient in his search for a new left-back.

With stand-in Liam Craig suspended for tomorrow’s trip to face Morton, the Perth manager may have to drop midfielder Paul Sheerin into a defensive role at Cappielow.

But yesterday McInnes had a trialist under scrutiny on the training ground and a loan option is another avenue being explored after drawn-out negotiations with an unnamed foreign club stalled.

“There’s nothing to report on that front,” said McInnes. “We are still working on it but we might have to go with what we’ve got at Cappielow.”

While injured trio Jody Morris, Steven Anderson and Collin Samuel should be available for next weekend’s clash with Dunfermline, keeper Alan Main could make tomorrow’s 16 after resuming training.

McInnes said: “If Alan feels fit and ready I will trust his judgement and he will come back into the squad.”

McInnes also has a concern over defender Kevin Rutkiewicz, who has been receiving treatment from an osteopath for spinal alignment problems. But he’s hopeful the PA player of the year will get the green light.

The presence of former Perth players Allan McManus and Kevin Cuthbert – and former Morton favourite Chris Millar in the Saints engine room – gives added spice to tomorrow’s clash in Greenock.

Saints, off to a winning start after four early draws and a defeat undermined last season’s title aspirations, are eager to keep the foot to the floor and pick-up the pace as August unfolds.

And with Morton manager Davie Irons bulking-up his squad over the summer, McInnes is braced for a physical contest.

That would be tailor-made for summer signing Derek Holmes, who staked a claim for a start with a double coming off the bench against Stenhousemuir in the midweek cup tie.

McInnes is delighted to see his strikers making an immediate impact.

After just three games, only Andy Jackson is seeking his first goal and last term’s top scorer has time on his side.

McInnes said: “We have the luxury of options up front and it’s great for so many of the strikers to get a goal. That’s what strikers tend to be judged on. But Peter MacDonald and Andy Jackson put in a real shift against Stenny.

“Morton are always a tough nut to crack at Cappielow and they will have a more physical presence this season. I’m glad Kevin Cuthbert has got himself another club. We were happy to give him access to training facilities.

“But Alan Main was going to be my number one and we knew early on Cat wasn’t going to re-sign. Now he has a chance to go to Morton and make himself the number one.”

Holmes (29) heads for Greenock for the first time in nearly a decade but he will have no trouble recognising the surroundings.

“To be honest I don’t know much about Morton. I’ve been in England for so long. But we have got off to a good start and want to keep it going.

“We’d rather be chased than doing the chasing at the top of the table. Hamilton strung together an early winning run last season and hopefully we can do the same.

“Confidence is sky-high after the last two games and it’s great that most of the strikers have got off the mark and are firing on all cylinders.

“Coming to a new club you know that fans are assessing whether you’re a good or bad signing. Hopefully there will be more goals to come after the two against Stenhousemuir.

“I knew we were getting crosses into the box and I thrive on that sort of service.

“We have strikers who are all capable of scoring goals and there will be stiff competition all through the season. We are all capable of playing every single week. But there will be games when the manager might want pace, or a target man like myself up front.

“We all have to be on our toes and grab our chance with both hands. The midweek goals won’t have done me any harm.”