Trialists set to sign for Albion

Aug 20 2008

STIRLING Albion boss Allan Moore hopes to increase the size of his squad this week by offering deals to trialists Kevin Ross and Chris Hamilton.

Former Celtic U19 player Ross is comfortable in the centre of defence and at right-back while Hamilton is a winger who looked lively when he came on in the recent 1-1 draw against East Fife at Forthbank, writes David Ogilvie.

Both players also featured in pre-season matches for the Binos and now look set to be rewarded with contracts. Further signings are likely to follow, with the centre of midfield a priority.

Former Clyde and Motherwell man Shaun Fagan featured as a trialist substitute in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Stranraer but his future remains unclear. He may have been given another chance to impress in the friendly match last night (Tuesday) against Irvine Meadow.

Moore said of the potential new recruits: “Chris Hamilton has shown up well in the games he has played. Kevin Ross is a bit short of fitness and needs a few friendlies to get his sharpness but he will give us cover at the back. With Sean Roycroft almost ready to return I think we are quite well off in that area now.

“I think the midfield is where we really need to strengthen. That’s no disrespect to the guys who are there at the moment but we don’t have many options if we need to change things. It’s not easy to replace the likes of Steven Bell and Chris Aitken but we are trying to do that.”

Stirling’s next competitive match is against Ayr United at Forthbank this weekend and a big improvement will be required if Albion are to claim their first victory of the season following the disappointing 1-0 reverse at Stranraer.

Gregory Tade headed the only goal with four minutes left to leave Moore’s men joint bottom of the table along with Alloa and East Fife, albeit after only three fixtures.

Ayr are top of the pile with seven points out of nine after coming from behind to defeat Arbroath 2-1 in their last outing and Stirling face a tough game against a side that will include their former captain Chris Aitken.

Stirling have only managed two goals in three Division Two games so far but Moore said: “I think the goals will come. But we have got to keep working hard – I took Martin Grehan off at half-time against Stranraer because I don’t think he gave us enough. Young Steven Waddell scored a couple of goals in a friendly against Cowdenbeath last week so we have options.”

Moore was unhappy after the defeat at Stair Park but believes Stirling can turn their season around in the weeks ahead. He said: “We do need that first win but I feel that we can push on once we get it. No-one looks like they are going to run away with it in this league.

“It so important to get the first goal and John O’Neill missed a great chance that he would normally have put away. That could have made all the difference and we also should have had a penalty when Andy Graham was pulled back in the first half.

“I didn’t say anything to the referee because there is no point. Maybe big Andy was too honest because he tried to stay on his feet. A goal then would have changed the game but for some reason the referee didn’t give it.”

However, Moore admits Albion’s overall performance wasn’t up to the standard required: “Stranraer deserved to win. I gave the players a hard time afterwards because I think we were out-fought and that is not acceptable.”

Attention now turns to Saturday’s meeting with an Ayr side who were beaten 4-2 on their last visit to Forthbank in December 2006. However, that is Albion’s only success in the last five encounters between the teams and they lost 3-2 at Somerset Park when the teams met in their most recent clash in April 2007.

Meanwhile, Chris Boyle has been appointed as the referee for Saturday’s game which is also likely to feature ex-Binos Alex Williams and William Easton. Albion go to Arbroath the following Saturday but there are no SFL fixtures on September 6 due to Scotland’s opening World Cup qualifier with Macedonia in Skopje.