Clyde veteran John Rankin: Conditions against Annan were a nightmare

Clyde match winner John Rankin says conditions during Saturday's game with Annan were arguably the worst he's ever played in.
John Rankin celebrates his winner (pic by Craig Black Photography)John Rankin celebrates his winner (pic by Craig Black Photography)
John Rankin celebrates his winner (pic by Craig Black Photography)

Freezing rain battered down on the players throughout most of the 90-plus minutes at Broadwood.

And the veteran midfielder revealed that half-time prompted him into a career first as he donned long sleeves and gloves.

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In the end the perseverance of the Bully Wee paid off as the 35-year-old secured three vital points by volleying home the only goal of the game in stoppage time.

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Rankin said afterwards: “I don’t think you realised how difficult the conditions were until the game started.

“The warm-up was fine because everybody’s got jumpers and stuff on and I probably chose the wrong kit in the first half, I had short sleeves on and I actually couldn’t feel my fingers.

“I’ve never ever wore long sleeves before, or gloves, but the conditions were so bad I had to at half-time.

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“The sleet was coming down that hard it was hitting off your arms, you couldn’t feel your arms. Both sets of players were saying ‘I can’t feel my fingers’.

“That’s the worst conditions I’ve played in but credit to the boys because we dug it out in the end. The pitch was really difficult because you couldn’t pass, it was skidding away from players and trying to get a touch on the ball, bring it down and control it was really tough.”

The win stretched the Bully Wee’s unbeaten run to six games, although three of those games have been draws.

But Rankin’s strike avoided another two dropped points as Danny Lennon’s side head towards the crucial second half of the season.

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Rankin said: “We shut the back door and managed to grind out a 1-0. I don’t think we’ve done that enough this season and hopefully a result like that can kick us on.

“You’re going into an important part of the season with injuries and suspensions and the weather and conditions play a part in all games.

“The consistency levels probably haven’t been there. We’ve won a couple, drew a couple, lost the odd game here and there and to be honest it’s probably not a great standard that we’ve produced so far and we need to look to better that.

“Hopefully that’s the catalyst for us to kick on between now and March and see where it brings us because the last two or three months it’s just about momentum.”

Next up for Clyde this Saturday is the short trip to Coatbridge to face bottom of the table Albion Rovers.