Colin Spence reckons injury-hit Irvine Meadow’s latest duel with Auchinleck Talbot will be a real test of their character.
Medda host Tommy Sloan’s side in the fourth round of the South Challenge Cup on Saturday and could be missing FIVE key men.
Midfielder Fraser McMillan is out after sustaining a serious knee injury in Meadow’s 4-1 league defeat at Cumbernauld on Saturday.
Striker Derek McNab, who broke his duck for the club at the weekend, is cup-tied while fellow frontman Graham Boyd (hip) and midfielder Neil Slooves (ankle) are major injury doubts.
Meadow are also awaiting clarification on Kyle Faulds’ availability after the playmaker was sent off against Cumbernauld.
Back-up is thin on the ground, particularly in the wake of the recent sales of Andy McLaughlin and Ryan Carnwath.
And co-boss Spence admits the timing couldn’t be worse as his side look to put one over Talbot at the FOURTH time of asking this season.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “Last week, I thought the squad looked to be in a good position. It shows you how quickly things can change.
“The Cumbernauld game has turned out to be costly for us in more ways than one.
“We’ll give Graham and Neil time to recover but at the same time the league is the priority for us so we will have to weigh things up.
“It’s going to be a big test of character on Saturday because we know how dangerous Talbot are.
“We ran them very close a couple of weeks ago in the Scottish Junior Cup and the players should take great belief from that.”
Spence wouldn’t rule out trying to bring in some new faces to alleviate his selection issues but added: “We won’t bring in people for the sake of it.
“They have to be as good as or better than what we have.”
Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
