Ally Adams glad to be back at Musselburgh after Berwick spell turned sour

Goalkeeper Ally Adams has vowed to bounce back after his move to the SPFL didn't turn out the way he had envisaged.

Ally Adams was not prepared to sit on the bench at Musselburgh

Adams only left Musselburgh Athletic for League Two Berwick Rangers in the summer, after finally achieving his aim of playing in the senior ranks. However, after failing to establish himself as first-choice under then manager Robbie Horn, Adams quit, rejoining the Olivebank club in October.

The 27-year-old was down in the dumps after his big move turned sour, revealing he saw his switch to Shielfield Park as a further stepping stone to his dream of making it as a full-time pro.

“It didn’t go how I expected,” said Adams. “For about a month after I was gutted. No disrespect to Berwick, but I just expected them to be another stepping stone in the right direction. I went from the Scottish [Junior] Cup final to Linlithgow then to winning the league at Mussy, then to Berwick, it was another step in the right direction and I fully expected to kick on from there. It just didn’t work out and it’s the first setback I have really had. You can only learn from it and I will learn from it.

“I went there and it did well in pre-season, I felt the fittest I have ever been and I felt like I was playing well in the friendlies – I got a couple of man-of-the-matches and thought I had done well – and then the first game of the season I got dropped, he [Robbie Horn] put the other boy [Sean Brennan] in because I was going on holiday to Tenerife for the second and third games of the season.

“I never really got back in after that; I played a game against Albion and a boy scored from his own half, we won the game still, but he took me out of the team. When he done that I thought it is obviously not for me, and then I left, then he obviously left the week after, which was annoying.

“He [Horn] was brand new and was very open with me. Again, to my own detriment, I was probably too honest. I just told him I wasn’t going to be there to sit on a bench; I wouldn’t sit on a bench regardless of who it is for – maybe Hibs – but bar Hibs I wouldn’t do it for anyone else.”

Adams was only away from Olivebank for a few months after winning last season’s Premier League, but revealed the whole landscape of the club has changed since former chairman Charlie McGlynn followed him out of the exit door.

Second top of East of Scotland Conference A, Burgh visit Newtongrange Star and can move seven points clear of their hosts with victory.

Adams continued: “A lot has changed with there being a new chairman. Charlie did a lot for Mussy, but it’s a lot different now, the club is definitely moving in the right direction.

“The professionalism around the club has improved. There is a bigger aspect with the community club, players are coming through from the youth teams. The 1934 club, the supporters’ group, are bringing coaches of fans to every game now.

“Being in the East of Scotland League, it feels like you are actually playing for something, whereas in the Super League, realistically, with Musselburgh, you were never going to win it.

“You look at the amount of players we lost last year, and you look at them and how many have went to senior football? Trying to replace that quality is obviously very difficult for anyone, so it’s credit to Calvin [Shand, manager] and Geordie [Kevin McDonald] plus the guys behind the scenes to even get a team competing.

“There is no unrealistic expectations, but at the same time, there is boys who have been here for a few years that aren’t just wanting to take part – we want to win the league.”