East Kilbride Thistle boss welcomes players back from injury for 2024 opener at Lugar

East Kilbride Thistle boss Aaron Connolly says they will be in far better shape for Saturday’s clash with Lugar Boswell Thistle than they were for their last outing in the West of Scotland Fourth Division.

The Jags were hit hard by illness and injuries last month but managed to salvage a 1-1 draw at home to BSC Glasgow on December 16, in what was their final fixture of 2023.

Connolly’s men kick off 2024 in Ayrshire and he is happy to report he will welcome some key players back for the match, as Thistle look to maintain their six-game unbeaten run in the division.

He said: “A lot of the boys who missed the BSC game with illness will be back as well, so we will be in a better place than we were for our last game.

“It was important the boys had that rest over the last couple of weeks, just given the state the squad was in with the illness and injuries we were carrying.

“For us, we’ve had a couple of weeks or so off, patched some boys up and got some players through their rehab.

“We are hoping to have three or four back into the squad who haven’t been available recently, so that will hopefully make us a wee bit stronger.

“Matthew Connelly should hopefully be back. Ross Duncan and Jude Rodger have missed most of the season and hopefully we can get those two back shortly as well.”

Seventh-place Lugar sit two points behind sixth-place Thistle in the league table, with one game in hand.

The sides have yet to meet this season with the corresponding fixture at the Showpark being played in February, but Connolly insists he still knows what to expect after the teams clashed in last season’s ill-fated Third Division campaign that saw both relegated.

Connolly added: “Lugar have been fairly competitive and had some pretty good results