Peterhead manager Jim McInally would much rather his side were playing in front of thousands of Dundee United fans at Tannadice than none, even though the lack of atmosphere may give his side a better chance of creating a shock in their Betfred Cup opener.
A new look Blue Toon side that will almost be at full strength will play their first game in seven months against a Premiership outfit who saw off Brechin City 6-2 on Wednesday with Jim saying: “In normal circumstances this would have been quite an emotional game for me. I have just completed nine years at Peterhead and we are facing the team I spent almost the same length of time at as a player and I would have seen a lot of old faces.”
“I feel for the players as well as they are coming back to work after a long lay-off. For a good many of them it will be their debut and they want to show what they can do. It should have been more of a special day than it is.”
“The fans not being there has really dampened it for me. It would have been good to see the supporters that come on the road with us however it is not to be. It is what it is and we have to get on with things. Some people have been saying that we could catch Dundee United out in a quieter atmosphere but I would rather be trying to catch them out in a noisy atmosphere.”
Jim added: “Despite the circumstances we will look to get our season off and running. We are a new side and everyone is feeling better this week as we brought in a lot of new faces which gives us strength and options. I also feel that Andrew McCarthy and Steven Boyd are like new signings as we did not see the best of them after they joined in January.”
“It will be a tough test as United have started the season well and scored six without Lawrence Shankland in midweek. However I am looking forward to seeing how we have knitted together.”
On-loan Dundee United defender Kieran Freeman is the only absentee as he cannto feature against his parent club.
The squad is therefore
| Lenny Wilson |
| Ryan Conroy |
| Jason Brown |
| Gary McKenzie |
| Simon Ferry |
| Joshua Mulligan |
| Scott Brown |
| Issac Layne |
| Steven Boyd |
| Alan Cook |
| Andrew McCarthy |
| Gary Fraser |
| Ben Armour |
| Kyle Bailey |
| Derek Lyle |
| Jim McInally |
| Derryn Kesson |
| Lyle Cameron |
| Joshua Rae |
