Graeme Mathieson was delighted to see his Cove Rangers co-manager John Sheran at training on Wednesday but has urged the former Montrose and Peterhead boss not to be tempted to take in this afternoon’s crunch pyramid play-off second leg against East Kilbride at Balmoral Stadium.
Sheran suffered a heart attack less than a fortnight ago and missed Cove’s 2-1 triumph at K Park last weekend as he was recuperating at home.
Co-manager Mathieson said: “It was really good to see John. He had a stroll around at training, spoke to all the lads and also had a chat with Roy McBain and myself.
“He is certainly improving but it is now all about rest and taking it easy, which are two things John Sheran isn’t particularly good at.
“But it was good to see him and we’re all pleased that he’s on the mend. There will be speculation about John maybe coming to the game but I would urge him to chill out at home and watch a classic John Wayne movie, just like he did last Saturday afternoon.”
Harry Milne and Scott Ross gave Cove a 2-0 lead at half-time in East Kilbride before Jamie Longworth pulled one back for Kilby in the third minute of injury time.
Mathieson added: “It’s only half-time and our tactics and game-plan won’t really change much from the first leg.
“We are one goal in front and we will be looking to do a similar job to the one we did last Saturday.
“We were 1-0 up after just three minutes at K Park. We didn’t want them to dictate play on their home ground and it will be the same this weekend.
“We will be looking to again get hold of the game early on and dictate the play ourselves. They will probably enjoy our new playing surface at Balmoral Stadium but it’s quite a bit wider than their pitch so it might take them a wee while to get used to it.
“We need to use that to our advantage and try to nick something in the first 20 minutes. To get through the play-offs you have to play four massive games but as a player or a manager you can only focus on the first two ties.
“You never look ahead to the next one until the game is won. We have 20 players to pick from so once again my toughest task will be to decide which two miss out and have to sit on the stand.”
