Auchinleck Talbot boss, Tommy Sloan, says his players will be ready to put their league disappointment behind them, and focus on their two upcoming cup finals.
After leading the West of Scotland Football League Premier Division for a number of weeks, dropped points over the last few weeks meant that Talbot fell behind fellow East Ayrshire side Darvel in the race for the title and potential football league promotion.
Talbot’s win over Glenafton on Saturday wasn’t enough to halt Darvel, as the league was wrapped up, with the Beechwood Park side missing out.
A close match at Loch Park was separated by a late Gareth Armstrong strike, to leave the Glens sweating over next season’s position.
Despite the disappointment of losing out on the league title, Tommy Sloan believes his players will be well up for the challenge when they play their final league match against Cumbernauld United this weekend, before facing Bonnyrigg Rose in the South Region Challenge Cup Final, and then taking on Yoker Athletic in the Indigo Unified Scottish Junior Cup Final.
However, Sloan says his side has been hit by injury concerns due to their fixture pile-up.
He told the Chronicle: “It’s obviously disappointing to have missed out on the league having got ourselves in such a good position. I think the fixture schedule told on us, because playing Saturday, Monday, Wednesday is never easy.
“Fair play to Darvel, they’ve done the job they had to do and win their games, so congratulations to them.
“I though we looked quite jaded on Saturday, although I thought we finished the game quite strongly.
“There’s a doubt about whether some of players will make the cup finals.
“Graham Wilson and Craig McCracken are struggling, Bryan Boylan I expect to start training this week so that’s a boost.
“We’ve got our problems and it’s been a long season with a load of games, but we’re in the finals of these cups so there’s still something to play for and I’m sure the boys will be more than up for them when they come around.”
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