Josh Kerr admits his role anchoring the Stirling Albion midfield represents a change of plan – but he’s delighted to be in the thick of it as the Binos pick up steam.
The 26-year-old was brought in by manager Alan Maybury on the eve of the season after expressing a wish to move closer to home and to partner Erin, who is expecting a little girl shortly.
Kerr celebrated that incoming arrival with a special celebration after notching the opening goal against Clyde at the weekend – and believes the strength of the squad and increased continuity bodes well for the Binos as the season kicks on.
He said: “The first game against Edinburgh City, I think I knew about three names in the whole team; you need to learn how people play and you can see how strong our bench was today, we have players that can come on and change the game.
“We were struggling a bit with that earlier in the season, we were playing some of the younger boys who did their bit, but the strength in depth is good and hopefully we can keep the injuries away.
“To be honest, I spoke to the gaffer at the start of the season and told him I wanted to play – he said I was coming to play centre half but I think I’ve played twice there since I arrived.
“It doesn’t bother me, I played there with Cove a lot and I enjoy getting involved with the play and it’s a little less boring than at centre half, where it’s a lot of just heading and kicking it away.
“We have good footballers in there so we can play a bit and I’m enjoying it.
“I said to my dad and my partner that I was going to score today when the two of them weren’t going to be there!
“She ended up coming along and didn’t tell me, my dad said he was going to come but couldn’t so I said ‘I bet I score with no one here’ and sure enough it happened. I probably should have scored again to be honest but that’s football.”
Kerr is set to play a big role for Stirling as they aim to avoid a shock and secure their passage into the third round of the Scottish Cup, with East of Scotland First Division side Bo’ness Athletic visit Forthbank.
The Newtown Park outfit have enjoyed a strong start to their season, sitting fourth in the league after ten matches, eight points behind leaders Camelon.
Bo’ness have also been prolific this season, having scored 35 goals in their campaign so far – the second-most behind Camelon.
Their threat was demonstrated with an impressive 4-1 away win over higher division opposition in Dunbar United and warmed up for Forthbank with a 4-3 home win in the league against Preston Athletic.
The squad contains some familiar names for Binos fans, with forwards Sandy Cunningham and Sean Heaver set to make their return to their former home, with former Blackpool, Dunfermline and Kelty midfielder Stephen Husband also included in their ranks.