Abundance of choices for Jordan MacDonald as Clachnacuddin manager weighs up his selection options ahead of tough spell of cup and Highland League fixtures for Inverness outfit
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Jordan MacDonald admits he is facing some big selection calls as he prepares a fully fit Clachnacuddin for one of their toughest spells of the season.
There could be one or two unhappy faces among those seated, unstripped in the main stand tomorrow as a powerful Formartine United side visits Merkinch.
The rare luxury of an empty treatment room can be a mixed blessing for managers, but MacDonald sees far more positives than negatives in the fierce competition now apparent at Grant Street Park.
In any case, with a North of Scotland Cup Final against Brora to follow, and then league matches against last season’s top two Buckie Thistle and Fraserburgh, it is likely that nearly every player will be called upon at some point in coming weeks.
Clach, while exiting the Scottish Cup away to Dunbar last weekend, are trying to build on back-to-back league and cup wins over Rothes.
“Everyone’s fit and available this weekend, so we’re going to have some choices to make, difficult choices,” MacDonald admitted.
“There could be a few boys unhappy this weekend with everyone fit – I can’t take everyone, but listen, that’s our job.
“Now that everyone is fit and available again, we’ve certainly got plenty of options.
“Everyone has to be fighting for their place. That’s what we wanted when we came into the club and we’ve got it.
“I know and they know I’ve got players who can come in and play just as well as them, so it keeps everyone on their toes.
“We’re always looking for improvement, we just need to get going again. We let ourselves down a wee bit on Saturday, in the first half especially when we didn’t play in our usual way – and we switched off for the goals.
“But there were a lot of positives in how we played from the second half onwards.”
MacDonald is warning Clach to be ready for real quality in the Formartine ranks.
“We always face a difficult test against Formartine, they are a quality side,” he stressed.
“Last season, with the new manager (Stuart Anderson) in place, they were much more direct. It was two very different styles compared to Paul Lawson’s time in charge.
“They have started the season well and it is always a tough game. We’ll need to be ready for what they bring.”
