CHAPMAN CURSES THE BIG FREEZE

Published 23 Feb 2010 16:14 0 Comments

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STRIKE: Ruddy Hunter fires in the Sons second goal against Stirling Albion on Tuesday

WITH every fixture in the Second Division falling foul to the elements on Saturday, Dumbarton boss Jim Chapman was once again left cursing the weather.

The Sons gaffer is concerned that the "stop-start" season is damaging his side's chance to push for a play-off spot.

And with the fixtures beginning to mount up, with six league match postponements already this term, including Clyde on Saturday, the seasoned manager knows his players will need to be at their best to keep the pressure on those at the top.

Chapman told Sport Scene: "We now have a terrible backlog of fixtures and we will now have a lot of midweek games.

"All the games that had been cancelled were just rescheduled on Thursday and now this game being off means that's out the window.

"So I'm just trying to prepare the players for the reality of what's coming up, in terms of probably playing twice a week for quite a while, and making them aware that a lot of sacrifices will need to be made.

"But this is where the squad will really kick in and everyone has a big, big part to play because I think we have enough quantity of quality to be able to cope.

"The key thing is not to lose key personnel.

"What's frustrating is that we can't build up a lot of momentum at the moment, because we have been performing well, but it's been a struggle because of the stop-start season so far."

The Dumbarton squad will get the chance to get last week's disappointing home defeat to Stirling Albion out of their systems today (Tuesday) when they take on a Scotland Amateur Select side.

And with tough away trips to sixth placed Peterhead and ninth placed Arbroath to come in the next two weeks, Chapman will be looking for a positive reaction from his players.

He said: "It was a missed opportunity for us on Tuesday but we are where we are in the league on merit and it gave us the chance to compare ourselves against a very good Stirling Albion side.

"I felt that the last time we played them they were well ahead of us but on Tuesday that was not the case and if we had taken our chances then the game could have been 6-6.

"I thought the match was a fabulous advert for the Second Division.

"The problem was that three of their goals were from the edge of the box because we weren't closing them down, and you can't give good players that much time.

"And at the other end we had lots of chances when we didn't get a shot away, so it has brought home that when you get chances at this level you must take them."

This article appeared in Dumbarton & Vale of Leven Reporter 23 Feb 10

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