Wullie Gibson has called on Doonhamers to pack Palmerston for Queen of the South’s League One opener.
The South welcome Clyde to Dumfries tomorrow to get the league campaign underway after their dramatic progression from the Premier Sports Cup last weekend.
The manager, entering his first full season in the role, is under no illusions how tough it will be as he aims for the title.
Wullie said: “We’ve spoken about how difficult the league is going to be. It’s going to be competitive. There are some good teams in there and obviously our target is to win promotion and get back into the Championship at the first time of asking.
“I feel that we’ve assembled a good squad.”
He added: “The fans have been terrific since I’ve been in charge and hopefully they’ll come out in numbers on Saturday and back the team.
“Hopefully Saturday will be the start of a long and successful season.”
The manager has heard quite a bit of chat around Queens’ early fixture list this season. It’s viewed as a favourable start but the player manager isn’t getting carried away.
He said: “I’ve heard a lot of people talking about our fixtures. They say the first four or five we’ve avoided the big teams and if we win them it sets you up for when they come around.
“But I look at it from both sides. If you don’t start with a flyer you’ve got those big games. But I think every game in this league is going to be tough this year.
“We saw it with Annan. They came to us, were well organised, hard to beat and beat us on the day.
“I’ve told the boys we need to win more games at home if we’re going to win the league.”
He added: “It’s massive to get off to a good start, we need to improve on our previous home record and we’ll be looking to do that on Saturday.
“Clyde will be a tough test, they are well organised and have a good manager in Danny Lennon who I have a lot of respect for. We’ve had a good support during the cup stage and a good number of season tickets sold so it’s important we reward that with good performances but most importantly success, which means gaining promotion to the championship at the first time of asking.”
Things have been made slightly more challenging this week with the injury to captain Josh Todd, who left Elgin in a moon boot last week.
An X-ray showed there’s no broken toe but he remains a doubt for this weekend.
Meanwhile, Gavin Reilly is hoping to rejoin full training on Monday and it’s a similar story for Michael Ruth.
The swelling on Iain Wilson’s knee from the St Johnstone match has gone down and he will also be eyeing a return to full training next week.
Gibson said he was “pleased” with League Cup progression.
He said: “The group stage has given us plenty to think about regarding players and formation we start with. To qualify after the poor result against Annan was a boost and getting Rangers is a great draw for the club. It’s been very pleasing.”
