Jim McInally hopes Peterhead can catch Falkirk cold in their League 1 season opener.
The Bairns, relegated from the Championship last season, will travel to Balmoor on the opening day of the campaign on August 3 and McInally reckons the pressure will be on them and Raith Rovers as the two full-time clubs in the division.
Peterhead have three of their first four games of the season at home, with fixtures against Dumbarton and Forfar following their opening away tie against East Fife. September sees them travel to Starks Park to face Raith, while also taking on their League 2 title rivals from the last two seasons Montrose and Clyde.
For McInally, the opening day is a chance to lay down a marker against a Falkirk side tooling up for an immediate return to the Championship.
He said: “It’s a great fixture to have first up. It’s the complete polar opposite of what we’ve been used to, having fixtures we should win. It’s the day the flag goes up and with it being their first game, hopefully they will have 200-300 fans through. It should be a nice atmosphere and make a wee bit of cash for the club.
“Falkirk have already started to assemble a squad of players that have played at a higher level. But we could catch them cold early, when they still might be trying to get a team on the go. It could be a good time to play them.”
Falkirk have added ex-Dundee United players Cammy Bell, Morgaro Gomis and Charlie Telfer to their squad, taking the number of former United charges to five, under boss Ray McKinnon.
McInally added: “If you take away Falkirk and Raith – the two teams who will play with the most pressure on them – then the move up may help, like a lot of people say it will.”
Airdrieonians defender Jonathan Page will train with the Blue Toon tomorrow, with a view to earning a contract. Page, who started his career at Portsmouth and has also played for Motherwell, Hamilton, Morton and Dunfermline, is transfer-listed and McInally has tried to sign him before.
He said: “He’s still under contract with Airdrie but is transfer-listed. I’ve dangled the carrot in front of him to come and train with us; I tried to sign him a couple of times a couple of years ago but couldn’t get him. He got in contact with me and I want to see how fit he is.
“He’s a player with good experience and has had great tussles with Rory (McAllister). That always catches my eye in a defender.”
