Irvine Vics sign Gillies

Nov 20 2009 by John Woods, Irvine Herald

IRVINE VICS have completed the signing of experienced midfielder Kenny Gillies.

Gillies, pictured, who numbers Beith and Irvine Meadow among his many former clubs, decided to throw in his lot with the Irvine outfit after turning out for them against Lugar and manager Rab Madden was cock-a-hoop at the capture.

“Kenny is one of the most experienced players in the game and he can use that experience to calm some of our youngsters down,” said Madden.

“He’ll also add some much needed dig to our midfield.

“We beat off a number of club to get his signature and it’s a great bit of business for Irvine Vics.

“Kenny needs a game or two to get up to full fitness but I like what I’ve seen of him so far and I can’t wait until he’s properly up to speed.”

Vics entertain Troon on Saturday and Madden will be looking to the new boy to help get his side back on the winning trail.

There could be a surprise face in the ranks when Irvine Meadow travel to Petershill on Saturday.

Tough-tackling defender Paul Hilland, who left the club a couple of years ago to go to Australia, is now back home again and itching to pull on his boots once more.

Hilland was due to talk to Meadow on Wednesday night and manager Chris Strain was hoping to get him back in the colours.

Although Strain felt the draw with Pollok was a pretty fair result, he was still annoyed at the way his side twice squandered the lead.

“I felt both their goals could have been prevented and the free kick which led to their first one was a poor decision,” said Strain.

“We were in a promising position at the time and I’ve been assured that Brian McGinty was never offside.”

Meadow tired near the end but, added Strain, several players had been suffering from flu during the week and Steven Swift was up all night because his wife and new-born child were both unwell.

It’s back to an artificial surface on Saturday when Meadow go to Petershill – where they’ve never won on the new ground.

“It’s all right for training on but not for playing and you never get many goals on that type of surface,” said Strain.

“It will be a tough game but if we win we’ll be a point better off then we were at the same stage last season.”

Stephen Docherty, who has been out with a knee injury for the past five weeks, was due to see a physio this week and Strain will be keen to see the report.

“Doc’s a very experienced campaigner and we’d like to get him back as soon as possible,” he added.

David Lowing will miss the next three games after being sent off against Pollok on Saturday.

Kilwinning Rangers manager Billy Thomson is still hoping to add to his squad as he prepares for a vital home clash with league leaders Kello Rovers on Saturday.

Thomson has spoken to Cumnock about the possibility of striker Gareth Armstrong making a return to Abbey Park and, although the transfer fee and wages could be a stumbling block, he's pulling out all the stops to push the deal through.

The Abbey Park boss was disappointed – but not surprised – that last weekend's game at Winton was called off after the heavy overnight rain.

"We're improving all the time and I genuinely felt we could win it," said Thomson.

And he also feels his side can reel Kello back on Saturday.

" A win would claw them back and put us right in the mix," he added.

"We did well down there and were genuinely unlucky, hitting the woodwork four or five times.

"But we're a better team now, it's a top of the table clash and we have to take all three points."

Thomson's only absentee is broken toe victim Callum McGregor who is now back in training but is still a couple of weeks away from regaining full fitness.

Dalry Thistle have been forced to switch their home game with East Kilbride to Portland Park because of continuing problems with their Merksworth ground.

The club have only played a handful of games on their own soil in the past couple of seasons and this is having a worrying drain on their finances.

And, said manager John Garroch, it is doing nothing for the players either who don’t know if – or where – they’ll be playing from one week to the next.

“However their attitude has been first class and they’ve been fantastic throughout,” he added.

Tony McCormack is unavailable for Saturday’s match, but everyone else is fully fit.

Ayrshire League bottom dogs Ardeer Thistle face a tricky task with a visit to a Darvel side who have been causing the odd upset of late.