'We'll continue to give youth a chance' - Camelon boss Gordon Wylde finds positives in Kinnoull loss

After a dreadful start to life in the second tier under previous management, Wylde joined the club mid-season and with a new group of players, the Mariners have to steer well clear of any relegation trouble. They now sit in tenth place on 34 points from 28 games. On Saturday, Wylde’s side lost out 2-1 away from home to fourth-placed Kinnoull.

"I just wanted the guys to give us what they gave us in our last game,” the boss said of the match. “We drew 1-1 with a really good Luncarty side and we should have picked up all three points.

“But I don’t know what happened on Saturday, we weren’t quite at it. Our squad hasn’t been the biggest recently and it was two games in a week, I don’t know if any of those things had something to do with it, but we just didn’t turn up.

“It was a poor game of football and both teams, not just my team, were pretty rubbish. The pitches are so poor in this league and it was dry and bobbly, it is impossible to play any sort of football on it.

“We want to get the ball down and pass it but that isn’t possible. We were on a good wee unbeaten run but all we can do now is bounce back and try to win the final two games. They are against teams with something to play for at the top, so we want to make it hard for them and affect the promotion race.”

One positive from Saturday’s defeat was the inclusion of 16-year-olds Dylan Ross and Jack Breakell, who usually play for Andy Rodgers’ under-20s team. Both came on towards the end of the match and had a positive impact, with Breakell grabbing a goal back.

Wylde said: “The only upside for us was that we put two 16-year-old players on and they made a great impact. Of course Jack Breakell got the goal back at the end of the game too, so that was a really nice moment for him.

“They both got their debuts during Wednesday night’s game and they have had another shot on the Saturday, so they are getting a real feel for it. We have Andy doing a great job with the 20’s and for me it is simple. There would be no point having the team if we weren’t going to give them a shot.”