Clyde in 'great achievement' as Stranraer face play-off

Ian McCallImage source, SNS
Image caption,

Ian McCall took charge of Clyde in November

  • Published

Clyde manager Ian McCall hailed his side's "hell of a turnaround" to come from 10 points adrift and escape the Scottish League 2 relegation play-off at the expense of Stranraer.

The Bully Wee's 3-0 win away to Elgin City secured safety, while bottom side Stranraer will take on Lowland League champions East Kilbride for a place in the Scottish Professional Football League next season.

The Stair Park side's 2-0 win over league champions Stenhousemuir proved redundant, having needed Clyde to drop points to have any chance of survival.

"It was a hard task, but I'm absolutely delighted for everybody," McCall told BBC Radio Scotland.

"The last 12 to 13 games of the season, we'd be top of the league, it's been championship form.

"There's been some real downs, but they have started to show a level of consistency. It's a great achievement."

McCall took charge in November with the side two points adrift at the bottom, but by the time they lost 2-0 away to Stranraer in February, that had risen to 10.

"We brought in eight players and showed 12 the door," he said of the his January signings. "It's so hard to bed them in, but we managed to get consistent in the last nine to 12 games.

"Beating Stenhousemuir 6-1 away from home gave everyone a lot of confidence. Since then, they have really kicked on."

McCall compared it to his previous experience as manager of Ayr United and Partick Thistle.

"I remember I took over at Ayr United and it was a shambles and we nearly went to League 2 and turned Thistle around twice when it was a shambles, but this has been really hard," he added.

Meanwhile, Stranraer visit East Kilbride for the first leg of their play-off next Saturday as Scotland's third oldest club look to preserve their 75-year stay in the senior leagues.

East Kilbride travel to Stair Park for the second leg a week later.