Clydebank Preview

Stranraer finally have a "full" squad to choose from, but of course we know this means Dougie Johnstone and Duncan George will not be seen. David Farrell and Paul Blair have recovered from recent injuries (as has Kevin Gaughan).

With Stranraer facing the prospect of relegation, a good performace from the Blues is a must since 8th place Cowdenbeath play 9th place Stenhousemuir and a win for either side (with a Stranraer lose) could push the relegation battle to the last day of the season.

The last time Stranraer and Clydebank met both teams were well positioned for promotion. Since then the Blues have dropped dramatically down the table into 7th place, while Clydebank have lost their table topping postion and have slipped into third place (behind QoS and Alloa Athletic).

Clydebank are six points adrift of second place Alloa Athletic and they really must win their last four games and hope Alloa slip-up somewhere along teh line if the have any chance of escaping the Second Division. Fofrar Athletic are only one point behind Clydebank, but they have a game in hand and may have a better wildcard prospect than the Bankies.

One thing is sure though, both teams must win this match to help their prospect and a draw for either side at this stage of the season is as good as a loss. Expect to see some aggressive football at Stair Park on Saturday.

Here are some players Stranraer should keep an eye on at the weekend:

Eric Paton is a real danger man in the Clydebank midfield. The 23-year old player has played for Hibernian, Stenhousemuir and Partick Thistle before being snapped up by the Bankies at the start of last season. He has played 43 league games for Clydebank and scored 13 goals, including seven this season. Paton's last goal was against Berwick in late February.

Alex Burke:This is Burke's second spell at Clydebank. He started his career at Rugby Park with Kilmarnock in 1995 until being loaded to Clydebank in September 2000 where he scored three goals in five games. This form convinced Falkirk to sign him from Killie, but after only five months and no goals he was freed by the Bairns. He is currently Clydebank's top scorer with ten goals, and has scored a total of 14 league goals in 38 matches.

Henry Smith joined the club during the close season after David Wylie was freed (or retired) and Jamie Campbell joined Queen of the South. Smith is perhaps best known for playing between the sticks for Hearts from 1981 to 1996, although he has also played for Leeds United and Ayr United. While at Tynecastle the 6'2" 'keeper played in 496 league games. If you are interested, he has scored one goal in his career - for Ayr United in season 1996-97!

Darren Jackson is another former Scotalnd internationalist who has signed up with Derek Ferguson. Jackson has played for no fewer than eleven clubs in his seventeen years in professional football. The clubs have included Meadowbank Thistle, Newcastle, Dundee United, Hibernian, Celtic, Coventry, Hearts, Livingston, and St. Johnstone before joining Clydebank on loan in late January. While at Easter Road the Edinburgh native played 170 league matches and scored 50 goals - something Hibs could do with at the present time. Darren might be familair to some of the older Stranraer fans (myself included) as Stranraer were in the same league as Meadowbank in seasons 1985-86 and 1986-87. So far he has scored two goals in 12 matches (against Cowdenbeath and Stranraer!).

Mark McNally is another close-season signing of Derek Ferguson. The defender is best know for his time at Celtic Park, where he made122 appearances as a defender, between 1987 and 1995. Since then he has been plying his trade at Southend, Stoke, Dundee United, Ayr United and last season he played against Stranraer when he made 22 league appearances for Partick Thistle. Given a free transfer he decided to player for his former Old Firm rival Ferguson. He has made 8 appearances so far this season. In the last couple of months he has been plagued by an Achilles tendon injury, but made a welcome return to the squad against Cowdenbeath in late January.

Paul McGrillen is a much traveled forward, who now sees himself at Clydebank. He started his career off at Motherwell in 1990 and stayed at Firs Park until being swaped to Falkirk February 1995. At Motherwell he scored 13 league goals in 87 matches., while he did better at Falkirk with 20 goals in 80 games. Airdie was is next team and this was followed in swift succession by East Fife and Stirling Albion. Last season he played only 19 games for Partick Thistle and netted six goals. McGrillen was a signing target at the end of last season, but the forward decided to join Clydebank instead. This season he has scored seven goals - the last one coming against Cowdenbeath in early March.

Billy McKinlay made his debut for the Bankies in early December against Stenhousemuir. The 5'8" midfielder is probably best remembered for has matches for the national team, but he has had a long and varied career. In 1985 he joined Dundee United from Hamilton Thistle and stayed at Tannadice for 10 years. In that time he made 222 league appearances and scored 23 goals. His next port of call was Blackburn Rovers after the Lancashire club payed £1,750,000 for his services. In the five seasons at Blackburn he added three goals to his tally. Blackburn loaned him to Leicester before joining Bradford on a free transfer, then moving on to play for Preston. His disciplinary record is rather poor and has picked up three yellow cards and one red in only 9 games!

Injury Worries: Billy McKinlay out injured and veteran defender Mark McNally is doubtful for the match.

Current League form: D D L D L

For an in-depth look at the Clydebank squad, don't forget to buy the Official Match Programme at Stair Park on matchday.

Stranraer have currently only one ex-Bankie in their squad, captain Billy McDonald. Billy was on the books for the Bankies, but left the team when he was not brought on during an Airdrie game - Airdrie were scouting him at the time and a signing may have been likely.

Clydebank did have one player which most Blues fans would have recognised last season - Paul Kinnaird. He spent several seasons at Stair Park when Campbell Money was in charge of Stranraer. The midfielder played 54 league games for the Blues and score five goals in the process. Paul has played senior football for no fewer than fifteen (15!) teams, including three spells with Partick Thistle since he first played for Norwich in November 1984. He was freed by Clydebank last month, but I'm not sure where he went.