Peterhead have given one of Jim McInally’s former clubs a run for its money in transfer market activity this summer.
Nottingham Forest have generated plenty of attention for their spending spree upon promotion to the Premier League, with their arrival count standing at 21 at the time of writing.
McInally, who spent two years with Forest as a player in the 1980s, is not far behind, as he completely revamps the Blue Toon squad. The signing of Tom Ritchie this week took their tally to 18, with more on the agenda.
That figure does not include the temporary additions of Jamie Redman and Craig Simpson, who came in briefly to help out Peterhead when they were short on bodies.
Peterhead saw 14 players leave in the summer so a rebuild was always likely to be on the cards. They have also lost Russell McLean, Andy McCarthy and Hamish Ritchie to long-term injuries.
When results are not coming, it becomes even harder to bed new players in. Players looking to hit the ground running soon find their confidence takes a hit.
McInally sees some similarities to what is happening at Forest, albeit on a much larger scale.
“I listened to the Forest manager after the game (against Man City) and he said it’s going to take to find his best team and get guys working together,” said McInally.
“We played Airdrie at the end of last season and started this one with a totally different team. People need to understand that the hardest thing to do is to transform a team overnight and not expecting the recruitment to be as difficult as it has. No-one seems to be able to put a finger on it.
“The players we’re bringing in have got talent. We need to get these guys playing together and cut out the mistakes, to try give ourselves a chance in game.
“It’s not easy for them to get their confidence up when you lose a goal in the first minute and think ‘here we go again’. We’re asking so much of young players and it’s been too much.
“We’ve not had any choice but to do it this way. We’re trying to bring these young players along but they’ve been thrown in at the deep end and their confidence has been affected. We need to build them back up again.
“It’s not because they’re not good enough but because they’re playing at an unforgiving level. We need to get back to being competitive again and that’s the first aim.”
McInally takes some of the responsibility for performances himself, given some players are playing out of position.
“Some have been playing out of position and making mistakes,” he added. “That’s my mistake not theirs, as it’s me that’s putting them there.
“It doesn’t help their confidence that they’re being exposed to these situations but it’s something that will benefit them in the long run.”
Peterhead and McInally were not helped this week by the loss of their goalkeeper Jack Newman, who was recalled by parent club Dundee United due to a shortage of options between the posts. That prompted McInally to move for Ritchie, who he had pursued in the summer.
“Jack was devastated but from what I’ve seen, he’s the best goalkeeper out of the three of them (at United),” said McInally. “The boy is a good goalkeeper and it might not turn out to be a disaster for him.”
The Blue Toon welcome Montrose to Balmoor this afternoon and will have Ryan Dow back involved, after he missed the defeat to Alloa.
