The staffroom at Cumbernauld College’s Broadwood base has been louder than normal this week as debate over whether Arbroath or Albion Rovers will lose their 100% record tomorrow.
The conversations are being held by Curriculum Manager for Football Performance Students Todd Lumsden and one of his lecturers Sandy Clark - who also double up as the assistant managers at Gayfield and Cliftonhill respectively.
Both are quick to point out that it would have been a lot louder if another of the lecturers, Arbroath boss Allan Moore, had not been on holiday!
Arbroath came from behind to defeat Berwick last weekend 2-1 and Rovers did the same to Annan, with Lumsden saying: “There has been some discussion between Sandy and I over which side will lose their unbeaten run but thankfully Allan has had a couple of days off otherwise Sandy’s ears would have been worn out!
“We had a good start to our season at Berwick by getting three points, especially as we did not start the game well. The first five minutes had gone OK but we gave away a goal that you cannot really legislate for when our goalkeeper David Crawford, who has been great for us, miskicked the ball straight to one of their players who put it in the empty net.
“We dug in and were much better in the second half and got the two goals. David pulled off a couple of great saves and that really helped get the three points.
“It would be nice to get a bit of momentum behind us by beating Albion Rovers this weekend. They will have the same thoughts, especially as they have aspirations to win the league and they will be thinking about gaining the same momentum as we are. Someone’s winning record will be gone come quarter to five - or both records will be if we draw!”
Lumsden and Moore are finding their feet at the Angus club after a quick-fire appointment when previous manager Paul Sheerin moved to become the U20 manager at Aberdeen.
Moore’s assistant said: “We were thrown in at the deep end a wee bit and the players are getting to grips now with how we want them to play. We keep preaching about how we want them to play when we have the ball and how we want them to play when we don’t have the ball.”
Clark is also new to his position, having left Kilmarnock at the end of last season and then joining up with Darren Young when he was brought in at Cliftonhill.
He said: “Work has been lively this week with the game coming up but not as lively as it could have been as Allan has been off. I have worked with Todd for over four years now and he is a good friend as well as being a football person like me.
“We are always talking about football but I have actually known ‘Moorie’ since he was a young lad who signed for Hearts from Dumbarton. He travelled through from the west coast with Roddy MacDonald, Brian Whittaker, Ian Jardine and I. He had to grow up quickly in that company and he did.
“He had a good career as a player and did really well as a manager at Stirling Albion. Morton was unfortunate for him and I am delighted he is back in alongside Todd at Gayfield.
“They are a great combination as Allan is a good manager and Todd is a good coach. It will be a really interesting game on Saturday but it is not about us, it is about what the players do on the park.
“League 2 will be really tight all season. We beat Annan last weekend and they are a decent team and Barry Ferguson will be looking to have an impact at Clyde. There will be others involved in the chase including Colin Cameron’s Berwick. Saturday will give us a bit of a guide but nothing more.”
Craig Stewart
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