Moore expects tough time on travels

Martin Greig • Published 13 Jul 2010 14:00 0 Comments

ALLAN Moore admits he knows little about the opposition his side will face this week but insisted the Scottish-English rivalry will ensure a couple of tasty encounters.

Ton face Blyth Spartans tonight and Gateshead on Thursday before returning to take on Bristol Rovers at Cappielow on Saturday.

And Moore believes the pre-season trip to the north of England will get his side's competitive juices flowing ahead of the new season.

He said: "We don't know much about the teams but sometimes that's a good thing.

"When you play teams from up here there's a familiarity but going down there is a different challenge.

"It can be a hard slog. There's usually a bit of needle when you play English teams so we expect it to be competitive though we don't want to pick up any niggly injuries.

"Then we come back to play Bristol Rovers, which should be a great occasion. It's a good chance for the fans to see the kind of players we've brought on board.

"We are still trying to get the team together so they won't be seeing the end-product but it will give them an idea of where we are going."

Moore expressed some defensive concerns after a series of bounce games against Hamilton, a Nigerian select and Albion Rovers last week and insists the trip south of the border will give him a chance to work more on gelling the team.

He said: "We are looking for a bit of team shape. We will have a good session on Tuesday morning before the game at night and will look to see some signs of progress."

This is Moore's first experience of taking a team on a pre-season trip as manager but he insists the exercise is very important in building relationships off the field as well as on it.

He said: "It's important to get away as a team as we have brought in a few new boys and they need to integrate into the group.

"We will make sure they mingle well. One of the ways to do that is to not pair them up with their mates when it comes to room-sharing."

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This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 13 Jul 10

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