Queen’s Park’s Head Coach Robin Veldman is looking for his players and the clubs’ fans to come together again today when Queen of the South visit Lesser Hampden for what should be an exciting 90 minutes.
The Spiders could move up to second in Group G whereas the Doonhamers will be going for the win that could see them top the group with Veldman looking for everyone to build on Tuesday night’s historic 5-0 success over Elgin City.
Robin explained: “It was a special night as it was the first game at the refurbished ground. The atmosphere was great. The early goal, the amount of chances we created and the result all helped influence the crowd but the crowd influenced us as well.
“They gave us energy and that helped us keep going as opposed to slowing things down after 60 minutes. It was a great collaboration between the fans and the players, and it would be great to have that again as this will be a tough game.
“The style of play from Queen of South is good. They are willing to build-up and are willing to play football in a passing game. We will look to play how we play, and look to pass and make chances as well, but this will be a tough test.”
Robin added: “Queen of the South will intend to play in a certain way. They can top the group, they have quality, it will be an open game and one where we will be tested both in defence and in creating chances.
“They will have a go and that is good for us as we are looking for a competitive game to not only challenge our opponents but challenge our own standards as well.”
The squad are in good shape ahead of kick-off with Veldman facing some tough choices as he explained: “We are making progress. I have looked back at our early games against Premiership teams and our games in this competition and we have moved forward both in terms of how we play and in our physicality in terms of going for 90 minutes.
“With all the information we have we believe that we are in a good place. We feel that we are ready for the challenges ahead but this game is a check that is the case.
“We have analysed each player and looked at when is the best time for them to get minutes. Our young players need to be developed in competitive games. That along with our training sessions prepares them however that is one part of selection. There are a lot of positives to take from the Elgin game and we want to build momentum from there so that needs to be thought about as well.
“Players are in competition for places all over the pitch and I believe that is good as that helps everyone perform in training and in games within the squad. There are no injuries. I have hard choices to make.”