Jim McInally has taken a different tack with Peterhead this season and it is one which comes with ups and downs.
For much of his tenure, he has tended to prefer a more experienced squad, winning two league titles and trying to establish the Blue Toon as a League One side.
But this year they have gone the opposite way. The average age of their squad is 25, but that is boosted significantly by 40-year-old Derek Lyle; the majority of their squad is 24 and under and, in the 2-1 win against Queen’s Park, their starting line-up had an average age of 21.
McInally has found their youth refreshing. It allows Peterhead to play a more energetic style and the players are adaptable, rather than older pros who are set in their ways.
It has brought about more inconsistent displays – the downside to being such a young team is that individual performance levels will fluctuate, due to the lack of match experience.
It has meant figures like Jason Brown and Russell McLean, who are both in their early-to-mid-20s, have had to take on more senior roles. Their captain Scott Brown is only 26.
One of the stars of the season has undoubtedly been Josh Mulligan. The Dundee loanee has been a revelation in a number of roles, but seems best-suited to an attacking full-back or wing-back role.
McInally sees him as the archetypal modern full-back, who possesses tremendous energy levels and the ability to influence the game in the final third. At 19, his ceiling should take him beyond the Dark Blues’ first-team and further afield.
His defensive work still needs some sharpening up, but that should come playing in a team like Peterhead or Dundee. These teams are likely to spend more time during matches having to defend and this will give Mulligan greater chance to improve.
Had he come through at Rangers or Celtic, the likelihood is the attacking side of his game would have taken precedence, due to them controlling much of the ball in their fixtures.
David Wilson and Grant Savoury both appear to be savvy pick-ups too. Both trained with the Blue Toon for a significant period before signing, allowing them to gain fitness and enabling Peterhead to do their due diligence on the players before signing them.
Wilson is a nuts-and-bolts defender who has slotted in well alongside Brown, either in a back three or back four. He also gives them the flexibility of being able to cover at right-back if needed.
Savoury is a technically-gifted attacker capable of playing wide or through the middle, giving McInally a different weapon in his arsenal. He has bagged a couple of hat-tricks in bounce games and looks to be hitting his stride in League One now, too.
Peterhead’s results have shown their ability to get results against more favoured opponents, such as Alloa or Queen’s Park, but they also have been turned over on a couple of occasions against Airdrieonians and Cove Rangers.
More of the former will be needed to keep them from being dragged into a survival battle at the bottom. A late surge after the split last season ensured they would stay up, but this team has the potential for far greater than just staying up.
Players within the squad have aspirations to challenge higher up the table and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Scott Brown and Brett Long – two others who deserve credit for their performances so far – continuing to be on-song will go a long way to making that a possibility.
There will be more bumps in the road to come, but Peterhead should look ahead to 2022 with optimism.