Best Albion Rovers team in a decade, says boss

Feb 3 2010 by Colin Paterson, Airdrie & Coatbridge

PAUL MARTIN reckons his Albion Rovers team is the best the club have had in 10 years.

The Cliftonhill gaffer is confident his side can remain play-off contenders despite slipping down the Third Division table following a run of eight league games without a win.

Rovers’ hopes of ending that sequence of results were dashed at the weekend when their trip to Annan Athletic was postponed 90 minutes before kick-off.

Martin’s men will try again this Saturday at second-bottom Elgin City – the scene of their last league victory on October 10.

“I still believe I have as good a side as anybody in this league and I think we have showed that this season,” Martin told the Advertiser.

“I believe in my players and I believe this is the best Albion Rovers team there has been in 10 years.

“We have fallen off it a wee bit but it is still there for us.

“I am still enjoying this season; I’m enjoying it far more than I did last season but we need to get back to winning.

“That’s what I want to see in the coming weeks. If we win the games we deserve to win, we will be in there challenging again.

“I can’t complain with the effort, shape and organisation of the team. We just need to start taking our chances and hope we get a few decisions in our favour.

“My team talk for Annan was that there wasn’t going to be one. I was just going to tell my players that we need to win.”

Referee John McKendrick didn’t take long to postpone Rovers’ crunch clash at Galabank, with the playing surface firm in a number of places.

The fixture was in doubt earlier in the day but both Annan and Rovers agreed to have a later inspection with the hosts reporting that the pitch was thawing out under the sunshine.

However, it was a gamble that didn’t pay off and Rovers’ supporters were well down the M74 when news came through that the match had been postponed.

“I didn’t have any complaints with the decision at all,” added Martin. “The pitch was nearly playable but it was dangerous.

“We haven’t won in the league in eight games so we were desperate to get the match on.

“We felt it was a risk worth taking in having a later inspection and we think Annan did the right thing by giving it every opportunity.

“I think myself and Harry (Cairney) have played on a lot worse but health and safety has moved on a bit in the last 20 years.

“The pitch might possibly have worsened as the match went on so the referee made the right decision.”

Rovers now have six matches to re-organise, meaning a fixture pile-up is inevitable.

After playing just 17 league ties in six months, the Coatbridge part-timers will have to fit in 19 games in 12 weeks.

Martin feels his squad will be able to cope but plans on bringing in new faces.

He said: “We will be getting some numbers in to boost our pool and that will hopefully allow us to rotate when the games are rescheduled.

“The squad wasn’t strong enough last season but now we have better players.”