Wednesday 2nd December 2015
STEVIE AITKEN admitted that Dumbarton’s trip to Ibrox last night won’t define their league season.
Now it’s time to face three matches that will.
Having lost 4-0 to Rangers despite a battling first half performance, Sons now face back-to-back games against the other three teams in the mini-league of four at the bottom.
First up is Saturday’s trip to Alloa – a journey where Stevie will be without a natural right back.
But despite the absences of Scott Taggart through injury and Stephen Saunders through suspension, the gaffer is confident that other players can step up.
He said: “These are three games that will determine our fortunes, against teams we will hopefully be able to compete with.
“Playing against Rangers at Ibrox is a great experience for everyone, but you can see what they are doing to most teams this year. The games to come will hopefully be better for us.
“Stephen is an experienced player and will be a miss for us on Saturday, but Scott Brown came in at right back against Queen of the South and Grant Gallagher can play there.
“We are without a player’s services, but it gives another player a chance to impress in that position.
“We had to think about keeping something in the tank for Saturday and that was why I made the changes when I did. Scott and Jamie Lindsay needed some minutes, while guys like Kevin Cawley and Steven Craig are just back from injury.
“Tiredness crept in and you could see that in the players in the later stages of the game.
“It was a positive first half performance. The plan was to frustrate Rangers and we managed that, but the full-time/part-time divide made the big difference.
“Some of our players were working 10-hour shifts before the game and in the end their opponents’ class just showed.”
Andy Galloway