Forty Hours!

With forty hours to go to the long awaited Irish cup semi-final against Queens, I admit I'm getting a wee tad nervous. Our manager Spike sprung a total surprise on me and the rest of the Sky Blue Sport's team, with his team selection for last Saturday game against Dungannon Swifts. Only two men of his starting eleven of the previous Saturday were in the panel of 16 and they didn't get a game. In the end I suppose we played quite well considering and if we triumph on Saturday our manager will be hailed as a genius. But I'm of the old school of thought and I believe in order to keep players sharp, you have got to play them every week.

Glenn was at pains to point out that Shan is his only recognised keeper and I could see his point in giving him a rest, but the other ten players, who will make up the bones of our starting eleven, I think needed to play. Letting them have a day off is not going to do their confidence any good, for its a well known fact that you are only as good as your last match and in our last match we suffered defeat. Much better to have rested three of four regulars and tried to win the game and took a chance about injuries, than to virtually hand the Swifts the three points as we did.

The theory is that we will come back rested and rejuvenated and raring to go, but we also will have lost that sharpness that comes from playing every seven days as we normally do. That said we should have too much firepower for Queens, but you only have to cast your mind back to a couple of games this season, against, Ballymoney Utd and the Welders, to see how we struggled against so called inferior teams. Queens are in the semi-final on merit, that they will make life hard for us, I've no doubt, but we need to be prepared to fight tooth and nail for every ball.

If we treat them with respect and don't in for 'show-boating', as we tend to do sometimes, I think we will win the game but its going to be a hard task. Glenn is away getting his pro licences in order this week and his two lieutenants are left to pick up the strain and get the team ready for the game. Glenn admits its not ideal preparation, but he needs his coaching badge and he's only following orders so to speak. But that's why we have an assistant-manager and first team coach to step into the breech when necessary. I know it's not going to be easy, but if we're all United, we can pull it off, so come on Sky Blues, lets shag those Lambs!