Paul Hartley will not take any risks with his small Cove Rangers squad in the Betfred Cup.
The SPFL’s newest side open their competitive against Peterhead tomorrow and have a doubt over Ryan Strachan (achilles), while Mitch Megginson was taken off during their final pre-season game against Forfar Athletic, after a collision with goalkeeper Marc McCallum.
Cove boss Hartley hopes to strengthen his squad in the coming weeks, with just 14 senior players making the trip to Station Park on Tuesday. The majority of the squad has already played at League 1 or League 2 level in Scotland but some of the youngsters, who have featured during pre-season, will be making the step up for the first time.
Hartley feels it is not the time to be taking risks with players and allayed any fears about the fitness of the club’s new captain.
He said: “Mitch is fine. It was just a precaution – we’re not running with big numbers. We’re hoping Ryan will be back for Saturday but we’re not wanting to take risks at this stage of the season. We know we’re short on numbers, like a couple of teams, so it’s up to us to build the squad up over the next couple of weeks.”
Cove head to Balmoor tomorrow, in what will be a return to an old stomping ground for several players. Jordon Brown, Jamie Redman, Scott Ross and – if fit – Strachan will all be taking on their former club in the Betfred Cup opener.
Hartley said: “Peterhead have got a lot of good players. They won the league last season and we expect a tough game. There’s no big expectation on us in the Betfred Cup but we will work as hard as we can every game and make sure we’re in every game. We’re part-time, new into the league. Dundee, Inverness and Raith Rovers are all full-time and Peterhead are an experienced side. So we’re up against it in every game.
“It’s an extended pre-season for the lower-league sides but we want to go into the Betfred Cup and be as competitive and hard to beat as possible.”
The former Alloa, Dundee and Falkirk boss, who returned to the dugout this month, was pleased with his side’s showing in pre-season, with victories over Inverurie Locos and Montrose before the defeat to Forfar.
Hartley added: “The players worked hard, with some good combination play and attacking patterns. It was a good workout and players got some more minutes under their belt.
“There’s a lot to work on – our conditioning will get better. The work rate is there but we can do a bit better on the ball. But there are some promising signs.”