Arbroath Preview

We’ve had a few encounters with Arbroath in recent years. Our last friendly up there was 6-0 romp, with John Hendry (yes, him) scoring four or five. We then met in the cup, with a 1-1 draw at Gayfield paving the way for a 2-0 cruise at Fir Park.

Corrigan's playing well

Arbroath have since been promoted and had a very respectable season in the First Division last year. They’ll be a tough nut to crack and depending on how seriously we take things, a win will not be guaranteed. The most important thing about the game is to keep the players ready for Saturday – that means not flying into challenges that could result in injury and under no circumstances doing anything that will incur the wrath of the referee. Having said that, the fifty or so brave fans who’ll go to support the team, might want to see a game in return for their dedication, rather than a ninety minute long non-event.

Our injury situation is already causing anxiety amongst the support and it would be incredibly reckless of Terry Butcher to risk anyone who is less than 100% fit. Stephen Pearson sat out the Cardiff game because of a knock and it may prove prudent to give Scott Leitch a rest after he limped off in the last friendly. Two of our three summer signings have yet to make an appearance and while Daniel Sengewald may be considered, it is unlikely Khaled Kemas will even be fit in time for the Livvy game.

Arbroath contain few players ‘Well fans will have heard of but their assistant manager is none other than the legend Steve Kirk. Make sure you give him a cheer if you’re up.

It’s hard to predict friendlies with any kind of conviction, but we’ve been going well so far so there is no reason to change. Arbroath 0-2 ‘Well.