It has been a good few days for Clyde skipper John Sweeney as not only did his side get back to winning ways at Annan last weekend but he also agreed a new deal with the Broadwood club until the end of next season.
The Bully Wee won 1-0 at Galabank last weekend to halt a four game run without a win and moved back into third place as a result in League 2 with Sweeney saying: “It was a great result down at Annan. We went down there knowing that we would have to work hard for the 3 points and that is what we did.”
“We controlled the first half of the game and got our goal quite early. We had one ruled offside as well and Scott Ferguson had another good chance also pulled up for offside as well.”
The second half was a bit different as Sweeney explained: “Annan put us under a bit of pressure after the break but we defended well and always looked dangerous on the break. Their goalkeeper Kenny Arthur had some good saves so we had our chances as well.”
The winning goal came from a trademark long throw from the Bully Wee skipper that eventually reached Stefan McCluskey at the far post and he stabbed the ball home.
The throw ins from Sweeney are as good as a cross and they are not a new weapon as the 26-year-old said: “It was first identified that I had a long throw when I was at West Park United in Bishopbriggs when I was a kid. I was with them from under-12’s to under 21’s and one of the coaches there, John Bell, got me to throw the ball in. That was about 15 years ago and I have had 15 years of sore backs doing it.”
The approach can bring criticism from purists with Sweeney saying: “It is something different to have as an attacking weapon so why not use it. We play with wingers as well so it is not as if we are a one dimensional side.”
“The Annan Manager Jim Chapman was obviously disappointed at losing a goal to it at the weekend as he called us something like Throw – in United.”
After one season of finishing bottom and two seasons of finishing second bottom Sweeney is in the engine room of a Clyde side at the other end of the table and he is hoping that it continues.
Sweeney said: “I am now into my fourth season at Clyde and this is the most enjoyable one so far. There is a great team ethic amongst the players that are here and we all want to play for each other. As well as being good team-mates there are good players at the club as we look to get the ball down and pass it about.”
“That aligned with the spirit we have has helped us have a good season.”
The enjoyment of this season has been built on a backdrop of stability and those factors helped Sweeney make his mind up quickly about remaining for next season.
Sweeney said: “Being offered a contract now is terrific and is a lot earlier than what has happened in the past. There is usually a whole lot of chopping and changing of our squad from one season to another however we are much more settled now.”
“Stuart McColm and I both signed new deals recently and being able to start playing a side for next season is a big turnaround for the club. As soon as the manager said he wanted to stay it was agreed.”
The Clyde skipper added: “Playing for Clyde just now is a joy as confidence is high and training has been great. Sometimes training can be a chore if you are not playing well and losing games but so far so good this season.”
After three seasons of not coming close to an end of season promotion push Sweeney was asked if this is the season Clyde will be in the fop four come May.
Sweeney said: “Peterhead are out in front by a short distance just now but we will chase after them for as long as we can. Despite our previous seasons we talked about the play-offs at the start of this campaign as we had a good squad at the club.”
“Doing as well as we did in the first half of the season may have been a surprise to some however it was not too much of a surprise to us.”
Clyde have not been out of the top four since October and have occupied every position in it since with Sweeney adding: “The real highlight of the season so far was going to East Stirling and knocking them off the top of the table back in November. It was not so much knocking them off the table as putting ourselves there with a 1-0 success.”
“Again the goal came from a long throw in that Stefan met at the back post. It was a great win but what was so special about that day were the fans. They were terrific and gave us great backing. I am pretty sure they enjoyed that day as well as they were singing and dancing throughout.”
“That was a special moment for me as well as I love being skipper of this club. When it was offered to me I would have bitten someone’s hands off for it.”
Sweeney was asked if Clyde could stay there and continue their promotion push with a win this weekend and he said: “We have East Stirling at our place this weekend and it will be another hard game. They won at our place when they were making a great start to the season so we cannot just think well we won the last game so we will win this one.”
“You have to turn up every Saturday for every game in this league. If you don’t turn up then you will lose. There are a lot of teams going for promotion and you have to be at your best in every game to win.”
“My own form has had its ups and downs this season but overall I am happy especially as I had a decent game at Annan. I was told one of the papers gave me an 8 out of 10 and I will settle for that.”
“It may be hard week in and week out but it is still my best season at Clyde.”
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