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In what looks like a baptism of fire for new Gala Fairydean Rovers boss Martin Scott, he faces a daunting home Lowland League encounter against leaders Bonnyrigg Rose this Saturday.
Midfielder Martin Scott, alias Jimmy, will be in charge of Gala Fairydean Rovers for their game against Bonnyrigg Rose on Saturday (Photo: Thomas Brown)Midfielder Martin Scott, alias Jimmy, will be in charge of Gala Fairydean Rovers for their game against Bonnyrigg Rose on Saturday (Photo: Thomas Brown)
Midfielder Martin Scott, alias Jimmy, will be in charge of Gala Fairydean Rovers for their game against Bonnyrigg Rose on Saturday (Photo: Thomas Brown)

Scott, 35, who is making the step up from assistant manager after ex-gaffer Neil Hastings’ switch to a coaching role at Premiership Livingston, told The Southern Reporter: “Bonnyrigg on Saturday, they are top of the league and it’s going to be a difficult game.

"But I think if we perform to our maximum capabilities I do think we have a good chance to win the game and make an upset. It will be an upset because of the season they’re having.

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"Bonnyrigg do the basics very well. And in any football match if you do that then you’ve already got a good platform.

"If you mix that with some quality individuals, which I think they’ve got, then you’ve got a good mixture of having a successful team.

"They’ve got an experienced manager at this level as well (Robbie Horn) which helps them.

"But we want to dominate possession and we want to impose our game on the opposition.”

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Gala go into the Bonnyrigg game having earned a creditable 1-1 league draw at Civil Service Strollers last Saturday, Zander Murray’s 83rd minute strike for Fairydean equalising a first half opener by Mark McConnell.

The Netherdale team are currently ninth with 31 points from 21 games and the man nicknamed ‘Jimmy’ is setting his sights on a higher finish.

"I think we went through a very good spell and then we had a wee bit of disruption through Covid and injuries and we’ve kind of had to juggle the pack a wee bit,” he added.

"So we have actually had one or two guys playing out of position. But it’s testament to these guys coming in and they’re doing a great job for us playing out of position. And they don’t grumble about it, it’s great.

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"But I do think we’re more than capable of challenging a bit higher up the table.”

Scott, who famously scored the second goal in Ross County’s 2-0 Scottish Cup semi-final win over Celtic at Hampden in April 2010, will be assisted by former team-mate Steven Craig, who scored the first goal that day.

Scott revealed that he isn’t ruling himself out of being involved in the playing side at Gala too.

The ex-Livingston, Ross County, Hibs, Raith Rovers and Arbroath star, who initially joined Gala as a player/coach after leaving Forfar Athletic last summer, added: “I’m quite fortunate that I’ve worked with some top, top managers and I’ve had a few phonecalls recently the last few days and we spoke about it (playing).

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"I’ll probably look to support the squad as a player and assess it from there.

"When I was at Ross County under Derek Adams he actually went from player/coach into management.

"I spoke to him on Tuesday night for about an hour and a half. We talked about various things and he sort of reiterated the bigger picture – can I influence the game better from the side than I could when I’m on the park?

"So it’s something we’ll have to assess going forward but I’ll never say never.

"I’ll give it my all focusing on managing the team.”

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