Shotts boss blasts form slump, tells young side to step it up in points hunt

Shotts boss John McKeown has challenged his young players to step up to the plate and says one win in four games isn’t good enough.

McKeown says injuries are taking their toll on an already thin squad, but Shotts can’t keep using that as an excuse or they’ll run out of time.

Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Thorniewood United left Shotts 12th in the 16-team First Division, and McKeown is keen to get some points on the board, with a clash against 13th-placed Whitletts Vics looming next weekend.

“We probably deserved at least a point,” he said, “but we’re just missing too many experienced personnel just now and went to a hard place in Thorniewood, so we just need to dust ourselves down and go again.

“It’s such a tight league, but we need to make sure we put points on the board soon, because one win out of four isn’t good enough.

“It’s still very early in the season and we’ve still got some very important players to come back, but you can’t really let that be your war-cry, because before you know it you could be running out of games.

“The young guys who are coming into the squad from the under-21s and stuff need to step up to the plate.

“There’s no secret that we are struggling financially, that we’re struggling to compete in this league and to attract players with our budget, so we just need to cope with what we’ve got just now and hope that these young guys can find consistency.”

McKeown wasn’t pleased with the display as his side went down 2-1 to their Viewpark hosts, with PJ O’Donnell netting a penalty consolation.

“It was a decent enough game,” said McKeown. “I’m not making excuses, but we were still missing some big players.

“We’ve got a massive game against Whitletts Vics next, who are down beside us in the league, so it’s