Ray McKinnon has joked that Gary Bollan couldn’t get near him when the two were playing football together as youngsters in the same Dundee street and he’s hoping that it will be a smilar story for his Brechin players when they travel to face Bollan’s Airdrie in their League One clash.
It’s well known that the two men were team-mates at Dundee United but McKinnon revealed that their relationship goes back a lot further than their days at Tannadice.
“We grew up in the same street in Linlathen,” McKinnon said.
“There’s a year or two between us in age but we played a lot of football together back in those days.
“He tried to kick me but I was too slick for him!”
The fact that they are in opposite dug-outs today has meant this has been a different week for them both.
McKinnon said: “I’d usually see Gary but that hasn’t happened this week.
“And we’ve steered clear of texting each other. We’ll both treat the game like any other and we’ll have a good chat after it.”
Airdrie may be bottom of the league and Brechin in the play-off places but McKinnon isn’t being lulled into thinking their hosts will be a soft touch.
“They’re in a false position,” he insisted.
“I know it’s a cliche but it’s true. They’re a decent side. They were unlucky not to get anything against Forfar last week.
“Gary will have his team fired up. I’m expecting a really tough game.”
Brechin’s results may not have yielded as many points as McKinnon believes they deserve but he is happy with the consistency of performance.
“We’ve been great performance-wise this year,” he stressed.
“Even in the two games we’ve lost, we should have taken something from them.
“We should really be further up the table but we’ve put ourselves in a good position to kick on from hopefully.”
Callum Tapping and Craig Molloy are both expected to be out for four to six weeks, so are still unavailable for selection.
Meanwhile, Airdrie have agreed the temporary transfer of midfielder Scott Fraser from Dundee United.
Fraser, 19, trained with them on Thursday night and will go straight into the squad for Saturday’s game.
Bollan said: “I have known the lad since he was 14. He will bring a lot of energy and will be a great addition to the middle of the park.”