Little hopes to face former club

Arbroath defender Ricky Little hopes to be back in action for the League 2 leaders against his former Queen’s Park colleagues at Airdrie on Saturday.

Little was injured when the Red Lichties opened their campaign with a 2-1 win at Berwick and missed last week’s 1-0 victory over Albion Rovers at Gayfield.

The 25-year-old said: “The injury is not as bad as first thought and hopefully I will be available for selection. It will be a bit strange facing Queen’s Park as it was just over a year ago that I left but there will be a lot of new faces in their team.

“From the team that has been starting, only the big skipper Tony Quinn and Gavin Mitchell are guys that I know. I know James Baty, who has been a substitute, from earlier in my career but apart from that I don’t know any of their players.

“I will actually know more people off the park like Andy McGlennan, who is involved in the youth set-up, and some of the coaches. I don’t know the new management team of Gus MacPherson and Chris Hillcoat either.”

With Little and a host of others leaving last summer, the Spiders finished bottom of the pile but the defender expects a different showing in 2014/15.

He said: “After a poor season last year they will be out to do better. They got a good result against Annan and I expect them to challenge. They are a very different side but I would think the objectives will be the same as when I was there and that was to make the play-offs.

“We were always in the top four but we were really unfortunate in them. The boys who were there at that time know we were a side that should have been promoted.

“I had Paul McGinn at right-back and Andrew Robertson at left-back. It is great for them that they are now top-flight players.

“Paul has done well but it is ridiculous how well Andrew has done. Two years ago he was at Queen’s and now he is with Hull City and winning games in the Premiership. It is great for him and he deserves it as he was a terrific kid.

“You could tell he had great potential at an early age and he appreciated any encouragement and benefit that playing at Queen’s Park brought him.”

Arbroath have also changed in Little’s time, with Allan Moore appointed manager after Paul Sheerin headed for Aberdeen as U20 coach in the summer.

Little said: “Life under the new manager has been great and I am hoping my luck changes as I never played much for Paul Sheerin due to longer-term injuries.

“When a team gets relegated it can be hard to lift players but the new gaffer has done that already. He gave us quite an old-fashioned talking to at the start of the season and told us what he was expecting in terms of things like our fitness levels.

“Pre-season involved a fair amount of running as those fitness levels got drilled into us. The manager believes that even if we are matched for fitness we have the ability in our ranks to win games.

“It is not all running as his assistant Todd Lumsden is an excellent coach and the passing exercises we have been doing have been very different.

“I remember Todd as a player with Albion Rovers and it is interesting watching the two of them in action as they share ideas and then get on with things.”

He added: “Unfortunately this game is not at Hampden because of the work required after the Commonwealth Games. I am hoping our match in January will be played there as it is always a thrill - it is only after you leave that you totally appreciate it.”

Craig Stewart