Cove Rangers stopper Kyle Gourlay insists he will be happy whoever gets the nod between the posts this season.
Gourlay, who arrived on a free transfer from Hamilton Accies last year, spent most of his first season as understudy to Stuart McKenzie.
He did feature in cup games for Cove, with McKenzie’s performances in League One earning him a place in the team of the season.
The goalkeepers have split time during the three pre-season games and while there will be a decision to make on who becomes the regular starter at Cove, Gourlay will be happy if it is him or McKenzie.
“Me and Stu really push each other a lot in training,” he said. “We like each other, training is good with a lot of positive vibes.
“As long as we can both keep that up then I think we’ll both be happy for whoever plays there.
“Hopefully I can get a run of games but I support the team. If we’re winning then I’m happy.”
Gourlay was a youngster at Dundee when new Cove boss Jim McIntyre was there but he spent the season on loan at League Two side Elgin City.
Even though McIntyre has only had three pre-season games in charge, signs of progress can be seen in the team’s performances.
“I don’t think it’s changed for anybody – we’re continuing what we do,” said Gourlay. “We’re a good group of boys and we’ll always push each other.
“He’s not said anything different to the keepers. I think all he expects is for everyone to work hard, do their job and win as many games as possible.
“You can see everyone is wanting to impress and you should be doing that every week.”
Cove rounded off their pre-season preparations with a 3-2 defeat at Premiership side St Johnstone on Saturday. Their first competitive game is on Tuesday night in the League Cup at Albion Rovers.
“It was a stop-start season last year, especially at the start,” said Gourlay. We had a lot of problems with Covid and it went right into the season.
“We’ve had a couple of games, the boys have got a lot of minutes and you can see some progress.”