Jamie McKim has opted to look on the bright side after yet another Johnstone Burgh match fell victim to the weather.

Burgh were set to kick off the new year with a trip to fellow promotion chasers Muirkirk on Saturday, only for the East Ayrshire side to call it off due to the heavy rain on Friday night.

That was the Johnstone club’s tenth postponement of the season and, while the gaffer was, of course, hoping it was given the go-ahead, he revealed this one could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

“It was frustrating, as it’s another postponement in a long line of postponements this season,” McKim said. “But it has now got to the stage where we’re trying to put a positive spin on it and the positive spin with the Muirkirk game being off is that it allowed us to have a really good training session on Saturday.

“All of the boys got a good session under their belt, which was really useful. We had another session last night, so everyone will be going into the game this weekend flying now. Everyone will have fresh legs and be ready to go after the festive period, which is key.

“It’s really hard over Christmas and New Year to sort training facilities and get everyone together. The boys are all human, so they’re eating, drinking and enjoying time with their families while still trying to balance the football side of things, so getting all that out of the way now with minimal damage to our points and a good few training sessions is definitely a positive.”

Having made just 11 league outings so far, and with teams above and around them already nearing the 20-game mark, Burgh are facing an end-of-season backlog that will test McKim’s men.

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However, the boss is adamant that his side are merely enjoying the season, with no hint of pressure creeping into the squad.

He added: “We are a bit behind the leaders now, having played so few games, but we’re not feeling any pressure at all and I don’t think we will be as the season goes on. We have got the quality to deal with injuries, suspensions and two or three games in a week if it comes to it. We’re just enjoying the season because we have been playing so well. We’ve put ourselves in this position, so we need to make the most of it when the chances arise and the games eventually come.

“If we start looking ahead and getting bogged down with targets and aims, we could get wrapped up in all that but we’re trying not to. We’re just looking to enjoy each game as it comes and continue with the positive mindset.

“We’re only 11 games into the league campaign and there are teams with just eight or nine games left, so there will be opportunities for us going forward.”

Next up for Burgh is a tasty second round encounter with local rivals Renfrew in the West of Scotland Cup.

The Keanie Park men ran out 4-0 winners the last time these sides met – a quarter-final showdown in the Sectional League Cup back in 2018 which McKim revealed was his best night in the Burgh dugout.

“We’re all really looking forward to the cup this weekend,” he said. “We played Renfrew last season and got a really positive result against them. That was probably my best night in charge here.

“We watched them on Saturday against Shotts Bon Accord and they have real quality in their team. It will be a tough test for us but it’s one we’re looking forward to.”

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