A run of five successive league defeats is beyond disappointing and completely unacceptable when set against the target we set out at the start of the season but aside from learning from mistakes, there is little to be gained from looking back and everyone at the Club has been and remains fully focused on what lies ahead this afternoon versus Annan Athletic and on Tuesday evening against Elgin City… and beyond. The above said, there’s no truer saying than you get kicked when you’re down! Not a whinge or an excuse, just a fact; Dylan Bikey did not handle the ball when “scoring” an equalizer against Forfar as testified not just by Dylan but also by the Forfar players in the immediate vicinity.
I’m not going to waste my energy (or ink) in dealing with some of the sensationalist nonsense published by certain journalists, following Kevin Rutkiewicz’s resignation. Suffice it to say, there was, and remains a mutual respect between myself, the Club Board and Kevin. It was said at the time and I’ll repeat it here, his commitment, hard work, energy and enthusiasm are unrivalled anywhere in Scottish Football and I personally wish him all the best with whatever the future holds, within and outside of football.
We move on and the Club Board has commenced the process of filling the vacancy. At the time of going to print there is little more to be said and any tangible and non-confidential progress will be posted on the Club Website without delay.
Turning to non-footballing matters, the Community Engagement Team are heavily involved in preparations for this year’s SPFL Trust’s “Festive Friends” initiative. We have again partnered with Start Up Stirling to ensure we engage with those most in need as we set about distributing 60 Hampers in the week leading up to Christmas Day.
We also have the small matter of the Scottish Cup tie against Rangers to prepare for and our initial plans for ticket allocation have been communicated by John Daly, Supporters’ Liaison Director, in his latest Bulletin, which can be found here. Without wishing to be pessimistic, the rapid spread of the omicron Covid-19 variant is undoubtedly a concern in relation to fans attendance at Ibrox but I will say without fear of contradiction that pales into insignificance when set against the need to minimise the impact on the NHS and ultimately the potential for the loss of lives.
In closing, I extend the usual warm welcome to everyone representing both Annan Athletic and Elgin City and on behalf of everyone at Stirling Albion, I wish our supporters and their families a safe, healthy and as merry as humanly possible Christmas and Happy New Year.
C’mon The Binos!
Stuart
