Shotts boss out to avoid getting caught cold by postponements after last season's downward spiral

Shotts boss John McKeown says he is determined to learn lessons from last season and make sure they don’t get caught cold by the wintry weather and call-offs this term.

The Bonny were sidelined at the weekend with their trip to Kilbirnie Ladeside postponed due to a frozen pitch, and it leaves them with just one more West of Scotland First Division match before Christmas, with the side fifth in the table.

Attention turns to their rescheduled West of Scotland Cup clash with Eglinton this Saturday and with matches regularly called off at this time of year, McKeown wants to do all he can to avoid a scenario that derailed last season’s promotion push and had them fighting for survival come the end of it.

After Saturday’s league clash was called off, McKeown said: “I just don’t want to get caught cold again like last year. We were flying going into the Christmas period and then we had seven weeks without a game just killed us.

“I am really trying to avoid that scenario this season.

“I was speaking to Pollok to try and get a friendly arranged over the next couple of weeks to keep the players ticking over, but it is just a lottery whether the pitches will be available. We knew on Friday the Kilbirnie game was off and had booked a park for training, but even the astroturf pitches were off on Saturday.

“This time of year, because there are so many games off, some teams aren’t even getting a chance to train, so it can catch people cold. We just need to be aware of that and be on the ball.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s last 16 tie with Fourth Division Eglinton, McKeown said: “We’ve done our homework on them and it is a game where we just need to be professional.

“The weather looks like it will thaw out from Wednesday onwards so we