St Johnstone’s Steven Anderson is the first to admit he owes Jim Weir a big debt of gratitude.
However, he will be unable to thank the Elgin City manager when he travels to Borough Briggs on Betfred League Cup duty this afternoon – because Weir is otherwise occupied competing in a gruelling Ironman challenge in Bolton.
The 47-year-old is fulfilling a long-standing commitment to take part in the event that includes a two-and-a-half-mile swim in open water as well as a 112-mile cycle, and then a full marathon, with Weir raising money for the Scope About Disability UK charity.
Weir said: “I have to be in Bolton the day before the event to go through the briefing material.
“I elected to do this several months ago before the new-look Cup format was announced and as it was for charity and I had started training I opted to go through with it.
“I am more than a stone lighter than I was in my playing days and I am more ready for this challenge than I was then.”
Weir added: “I would have enjoyed welcoming my old club to Elgin but it is not to be. My assistant Gavin Price will be in charge and he will have his mobile switched on in the dug-out.”
While Anderson will miss out on being reunited with Weir, he is the first to admit he learned a lot from his former mentor.
The popular “Ando” was taken under Weir’s wing when he was assistant manager at McDiarmid.
Being a defender himself, he was keen to pass on his knowledge of the game to the young Anderson, something he is grateful for to this day.
However, the 30-year-old insists there is no room for sentiment in football and he is determined Saints will start with a victory in the reformatted competition.
Anderson said: “Jim was a big influence on my career when he was assistant manager.
“When John Connolly parted company with the club, he took over for a couple of games.
“He had me doing double sessions on the astro working on my defending.
“I really enjoyed working under him.
“He was assistant manager, coach and a player at the time, still turning out for the reserves.
“He took me under his wing and being a central defender himself, he saw similar attributes in me as well.
“I always wanted to improve and he helped me do that – I am grateful for that.
“But it was the same when he was manager at Brechin and we played them, I still wanted to beat them – so hopefully we can get a result.
“They have nothing to lose so it is all about us on the day and if we play to our capabilities, work hard and match them on that aspect, then we should go on to win the game.”
Anderson is confident his side can avoid a potential banana skin at Elgin but in a week when Celtic were humiliated by Gibraltar minnows Lincoln Red Imps, he insists Saints will be taking nothing for granted against the League 2 side.
He added: “The pitch should be good up there and we won’t take them lightly, definitely not.
“Obviously, we want to qualify from the group and need to try to win as many games as possible.
“These are not friendly matches – these are competitive games.
“Every year we say it is the chance to win a trophy. We have already done it once and we got a taste for that so we want to do it every year.”
