Musselburgh needing to convert draws into victories

Musselburgh Athletic midfielder Conor Thomson believes the Olivebank men are in a false position in the Super League and should be challenging at the top end.

Conor Thomson, pictured playing for Bonnyrigg

Burgh, who sit 12th, have lost five league games so far this season – the same as tomorrow’s opponents Penicuik Athletic, who sit fourth.

It’s been turning one point into three that’s been their main issue with Calvin Shand’s side having drawn eight of their 17 league encounters.

They have won just once in the league at home this season, drawing six, and Thomson is desperate to secure victory tomorrow against his former club.

He said: “We need to get a wee run together, we’ve not really won a few games in a row. The manager has stressed to us that we need to get a good run at home. We’ve not lost many, we’ve just drawn a lot of games, that’s been our problem and we should’ve won all of them I would say.

“I think maybe sometimes we try and walk it in the net instead of just shooting from anywhere. We do like to pass the ball but I think we try and overplay it sometimes. We should definitely be scoring a lot more goals.”

The attacking-midfielder opted to link up with former Burgh team-mates Shand and his assistant Kevin McDonald after they took over at Olivebank in the summer.

Thomson chose to re-join the club after a short spell at Penicuik last season, whom he joined on a six-month deal from eventual champions Bonnyrigg Rose where he had played a bit-part role in his second season.

“I was at Bonnyrigg for the first half of the season and I just went to Penicuik to get some games and play really. Not getting a chance at Bonnyrigg was really frustrating because I thought I could’ve played a part in that, I felt I was good enough to be playing. The season before I played basically every game so I was quite disappointed. I wouldn’t really feel like I’d won the league if I’d stayed there and just sat on the bench every week.

“I got a phone call from Calvin [at the end of the season] who I’d played wth at Musselburgh before and as soon as he said him and Geordie [Kevin McDonald] were going to be taking it, it basically made up my mind.

“I know what they are both like, they try to play football and like to pass it and I know that suits me.”