Scott Walker Column

Published 24 Feb 2010 10:17 0 Comments

IT was frustrating that yet another game fell victim to the cold snap with Saturday's postponement at Cowdenbeath just adding to our fixture back log.

A frozen Central Park pitch led to the call off.

The decision was taken early on and while a later inspection may well have seen the game go ahead, from a fans point of view, it is important that decisions are taken quickly.

It also makes financial sense.

Another Saturday postponement isn't great for us, though, because we are on such a good run right now, but I'm not frightened that it will have a negative impact on our long term progress.

The games - weather permitting - will now be coming thick and fast and hopefully we can take advantage of having a decent sized squad.

Guys like Chris Townsley, Scot Buist, Mark Gilhaney and Kevin Welsh - all first team players - are on their way back.

It will be fantastic when these players return because it keeps everyone on their toes. Complacency can and does set in when guys know they are guaranteed a starting place every week but that won't happen at Alloa.

To allow the lads returning from injury some much needed game time a match was arranged against Sauchie Juniors on Tuesday evening. So hopefully that will help them on their way back to full fitness.

The midweek games start next week. It will be a hard couple of weeks ahead but some players do actually like midweek games. Most guys will take a half day off to prepare. It won't be a massive problem for us.

We've got Peterhead this weekend. They're not as good as they used to be and we'll be looking for the win because the club needs to be shooting for maximum points at this stage of the season as we push for the title.

Fellow title challengers Stirling Albion's result at Dumbarton last week shows they are back to winning ways after their 9-0 defeat in the cup against Ross County. After a scalping like that you want to show you are not that bad and they have reacted well.

Craig Levein has named his squad for the upcoming friendly with Czech Republic, one of the teams in our qualifying group for Euro 2012.

I totally agree with his decision to bring players who stayed away under the Burley regime back into the fold. Yes, what some of them did was wrong but they have paid for that and it is time for the country to move on.

It is a good thing for the Scotland team that he has brought back Kris Boyd because we are a small nation with limited options and therefore need the best players available if we are to have a chance to qualify for major championships.

Barry Ferguson is still pondering whether or not to make a return, and to be honest, I don't think it will make a massive difference if he opts to stay away. He is playing well for Birmingham but we are well covered in that part of the pitch.

Next week, I'll give you my reaction to the Peterhead game and tell you what I think the impact of Scotland losing a Champions League place will be.

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