JOHNSTONE Burgh boss Jamie McKim reckons even the legendary James Bond would struggle to complete a successful spying mission on the club’s opponents as the Covid pandemic continues to cause disruption.

Without a fixture to play at the weekend, McKim and his coaching staff would normally have headed off to other games around the country to get the lowdown on their rivals.

However, matches are currently being played behind closed doors, with only ‘essential’ personnel allowed to attend, which means scouting missions are out of the question.

As a manager, McKim admits it has been a struggle to adapt to the ‘new normal’ but he hopes he can use his existing knowledge and links within the game to gain the upper hand.

He told Gazette Sport: “I like to be very organised and know my opponents’ strengths and weaknesses but I’m now relying on other managers and contacts to give me information on teams, which makes my job a hundred times harder.

“One thing I find difficult is when teams don’t put anything on their social media. It makes it hard to pick things up.

“What does help is that we do an evaluation of teams after we play them. That means, when we play them for a second time, we know what happened in the first game.”

Burgh have been dealt a number of blows in recent weeks, with some players ruled out through injury and others sidelined after being told to self-isolate as a result of Covid testing.

McKim has also been affected and had to miss the victory at Carluke Rovers at the end of last month.

However, the Keanie Park young guns have stepped up in impressive fashion, helping to make sure the team remains undefeated in Conference B of the new West of Scotland Football League.

And McKim expects other clubs to have to use their squad in a similar way as the pandemic continues to cause havoc.

He said: “The only thing we need to be sure of is that everyone is treated the same.

“I wouldn’t be very happy if other teams got into the situation that we are in and were able to postpone matches when we’ve not been allowed that luxury.

“The virus is still out there, so teams are going to have to deal with it.”

Burgh are back in competitive action this weekend after a free week as they play host to Maryhill in the second round of the Soccer Shop Challenge Cup.