Strathspey Thistle step-up pre-season with Inverness Caley game this evening
Strathspey Thistle are gearing up for the looming start of the new Highland League season by entertaining some top class opposition.
They will be hosting Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC at Seafield Park this evening with a 7.30pm kick-off
If it is like the last time Caley visited then there should be a mixture of first team and squad players all vying for selection.
The Jags follow this with an away friendly against fellow Highland League opponents in the shape of Lossiemouth FC at Grant Street Park on Saturday with a 2pm kick off.
Then this will be followed by a visit to Seafield Park by a Ross County XI next Tuesday evening with a kick-off at 7.30pm.
The three attractive should get the radically different looking Grantown side ready for the start of the Highland League.
New boss Bobby Beckwith takes charge of his side for the first time in the league on Saturday 27 July with an away match against Huntly.
He said: “The friendlies we have played so far have worked out really well for us and we have had a good chance to look at the players and to give everyone a fair shot.
“We are really looking forward now to the three big games which are coming up.”
They always say that good competition is a nice problem for football managers to have - but I am not too sure about that!
Beckwith said he will be looking to field a more settled team in the three friendly games to come after ‘chopping and changing’ as he attempts to mould a Thistle team capable of contesting higher up in the league.
“We will try and tie things down over the next few games so that we are where we need to be for the start of the Highland League with a strong starting 11 on the pitch,” he said.
With all the changes that have taken place at Seafield Park over the summer - including a huge influx of new players - Beckwith has some major selection headaches.
And he joked: “They always say that good competition is a nice problem for football managers to have - but I am not too sure about that!”
“We now have strong competition for many places on the pitch. I imagine the final decisions will be made in the next couple of games.
“Hopefully we are now in a position where we can set out teams in a certain way for different games. It is a position that Strathspey Thistle has not had in the past.
“Individually, they are all ready to go.”
