Armadale manager Jim Henderson insists Premier League survival remains priority

Oct 14 2010 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

Armadale manager Jim Henderson insists Premier League survival remains priority

JIM HENDERSON’S Armadale side closed in to within four points of Premier League leaders Carnoustie Panmure after a good away at Whitburn at the weekend.

But the Dale gaffer still insists his priority remains avoiding relegation despite his side’s encouraging start to the season.

“It is a very tight league,” said Henderson after goals from George Bonnar and Craig Meechan handed Armadale a deserved victory at Whitburn.

“At the start of the season, if you asked all the managers in this division what their aims were, then they’d all say it was to stay in the league.

“It is that tight and staying in this league is a real struggle – you can’t become complacent.

“We are definitely looking over our shoulder at the teams below us as much as we are looking at the top.”

The short trip to Whitburn proved a successful one but Armadale had to wait until five minutes before the end to make the three points safe.

After Bonnar had forced home the opener for the Dale, they faced a nervy wait for a second, which was finally delivered by Craig Meechan near the end of the match.

However, the win was slightly soured by a late red card for Ryan Ferguson.

In the end, it was a comfortable win for the Dale but Henderson insists it could have been a different match had Whitburn converted one of their chances when the game was still delicately poised at 0-0.

He said: “You’ve got to be happy to go to a place like Whitburn and win.

“Whitburn will maybe be a wee bit disappointed as they missed a few chances when the game was 0-0, which could have made it a very different match.

“I think we’ve been quite unlucky in a couple of matches this season where we’ve only drawn when I feel we have done enough to win.

“I think Whitburn will be OK and I think their boss, Mattie Coulter, will look after them well.

“He has a hard job on his hands. He has put together a new team and over the course of the season he will have plenty ups and downs.”

WHITBURN: Carlin, Cunningham, Trialist (Secker), Mooney, Thomson, Martindale, Mahon (Wilson), Murphy, Millar, Hampson (Mackay), Craig.

ARMADALE: Walker, Brown, Steel, Buchanan, Roberts, Mauchline, Meechan, R Ferguson, P Ferguson (Connelly), Chilton (Valentine), Bonnar.