East Stirlingshire look for win number two of the season when Clyde visit Ochilview on Saturday, with head coach Craig Tully looking to get one over a Bully Wee side he played briefly for.
He said: "I was at Clyde late in my career but it was only for six months and I never played that much. After a few months the Peterhead manager Jim McInally got in touch with the Clyde boss Jim Duffy to see if I could go to them to start my coaching career.”
After helping the Blue Toon for nearly three years, which was rewarded with the League 2 title last season, Tully headed for East Stirlingshire and his first management role. It has taken time for his side to settle but the big centre-back is convinced that things are turning.
He said: "We are still at a stage where we are taking one game at a time as we are a new side. We had last week off and that gave us time to reflect on the first few weeks and recharge the batteries of some players as well.
“We put out a side that defeated Queen’s Park’s U20s 2-1 last weekend so we kept a few of the boys ticking over and gave a few others game time as we are still needing to gel tightly. For the Clyde game everyone has trained hard and is ready.
"Every game was a tough challenge during that opening period as we lost a lot of experience during that time. David Niven’s working circumstances changed so he never joined us and then we lost both Paul McMullan and Chris Townsley to injury, with Michael Bolochoweckyj picking up a suspension.
"Paul has not played for us much at all due to a heel injury and he is now getting special insoles made for his boots which will hopefully allow him to be back soon.
"We defeated an Elgin side that have done well this season so there is plenty to be positive about but the one thing we have to do is to stop conceding goals. Our performances have been good but I know that we are conceding too many goals and that has to stop."
One thing that is unlikely to happen to help plug the gap is for 38-year-old Tully to make a top-team return, despite signing himself as a player.
He added: "I have been playing in Development League games and we have drawn with Raith Rovers and defeated Stenhousemuir 3-2 but I am not planning a first-team start.
“I am happy to be helping the Shire bring youngsters through, as that is what this club has to be about, and thankfully everyone has bought into that."
As for taking on a new-look Clyde side, Tully said: "I faced Barry Ferguson a few times when I was with Dundee as a player and also in a Scottish Cup tie when I was at Peterhead. I am looking forward to the game although I am not quite sure what we will be facing as they have changed their team about a bit.”
Craig Stewart
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