McLaughlin hoping players aren't April fooled

McLaughlin feels that everyone in the squad will be called upon at some stage and that recovery time off the pitch is going to be just as important as time on the pitch during the next few weeks.

“April is going to be a massive month in terms of the squad being stretched to its limit,” he said.

“We had a chat about it the other day, I think we have eight fixtures pencilled in for next month, so April is going to be massive.

“We have to try and keep everyone as fit as possible and hope that we stay injury and suspension free.

“Recovery is going to be big throughout April because you aren’t going to have a lot of time in between games, as we are going to have two games a week for the month, so it’s definitely going to be a critical period of our season.

“I think from the Dergview game we are going to have two games a week for the next four or five weeks, so it’s vital that we look after ourselves both on and off the pitch.”

McLaughlin also feels that Dr Noel Boyle’s work behind the scenes has helped the likes of striker Gareth Brown recover quicker from a recent ankle problem.

“As much as everyone wanted the game to go ahead on Saturday, anybody carrying injuries will have got a couple of extra days rest, so that can only be a good thing,” he added.

“Gareth has had an ankle problem and a few other players have some niggles, but come Wednesday they should all be 100 per cent for the Dergview game, which is great.

“In fact the Doc has been working with Gareth over the last few weeks and he has done a great job on him, so full credit to the Doc as he has been working with a lot of boys and because of that they wouldn’t have be back a lot sooner if he hadn’t been working on them.

“In fairness everyone in the squad is raring to go and those wee niggles and knocks don’t hurt as much whenever you are winning, so long may that continue.”