Lowland League: Whitehill Welfare urged to roll up their sleeves

Attacking midfielder Kyle Mitchell believes it is time for Whitehill's group of players to stand up and be counted as they desperately look to drag themselves off bottom spot.
Kyle Mitchell, right, knows any points won before Christmas could be vitalKyle Mitchell, right, knows any points won before Christmas could be vital
Kyle Mitchell, right, knows any points won before Christmas could be vital

The Rosewell club are languishing at the foot of the Lowland League, three points adrift of second bottom Dalbeattie Star, and are still yet to register a domestic victory under new boss Jock Landells.

Mitchell knows picking up just five points from their opening 13 league games isn’t good enough, but insists they have had time to re-group following an enforced two-week break from competitive action.

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Ahead of welcoming Civil Service Strollers to Ferguson Park this weekend, the 21-year-old said: “Hopefully we can pick up another positive result like we did against Vale of Leithen a few weeks ago.

“Obviously, the club has gone through a bit of a rough patch of late but getting three points on Saturday could go a long way to lifting us off the bottom.

“We’ve had a couple of team meetings recently and spent some time working on a few things in training since our last game.

“The manager has addressed our weaknesses this season and put across some points he feels we can improve on, which we’ll be looking to build on for the remainder of the season.

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“Jock (Landells) has a good bit of fight about him. We’ve got a lot of young players like me, so naturally it’s going to be difficult in this league playing against experienced opposition, but every game is a learning curve.”

The former Cowdenbeath man, who admitted working under Jimmy Nicholl previously at the Blue Brazil has brought out the best in his game, is wary of Welfare’s tough forthcoming run of fixtures, whichpits them against the likes of Kelty, East Kilbride and BSC before the turn of the year.

Mitchell reckons the importance of tomorrow’s encounter with Civil has been heightened as a result, admitting it is vital they start to put some much-needed points on the board.

He continued: “Our main priority is just to get out of the relegation zone. We’ve got two games against Civil and Dalbeattie coming up, which we should realistically be looking to take points from.

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“We know we’re capable of picking up points against the bigger teams, so it’s time to dig deep and get out of the position we find ourselves in.

“It’s maybe a good thing that we’ve got unexperienced players because it gives them a chance to develop and gel together a lot quicker.

“There is a responsibility on the more senior figures in the team to bring them on and encourage them as much possible when we’re under pressure.

“The gaffer has brought in experienced guys like Ryan Gay and Nicky Faulds and you can see their professionalism in training. Their work ethic is good and it’s rubbing off on the younger lads.”

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Meanwhile, Edinburgh University will be looking to put their disappointing South Challenge Cup defeat last weekend behind them when they face East Stirlingshire at the Falkirk Stadium tonight.

Dorian Ogunro’s men crashed to a 4-0 loss against Sauchie, but the Students will be aiming to make amends against a Shire side who sit 11th in the table.

Tomorrow, title-chasing Spartans return to action at the Indodrill Stadium against BSC Glasgow on Saturday after enjoying a free weekend.