Rutherglen Glencairn co-boss Joe Pryce has praised fans who dug deep to help the club repair damage to their stadium after Storm Eowyn hit last week.
Gusts of up to 100mph on Friday caused damage to an enclosure and pushed down fencing around the Hamish B. Allan Stadium.
Secretary Peter Ferguson set up a JustGiving page, aiming for £2000, which [on Wednesday morning] was already 95 per cent on-target with £1910 raised.
Pryce said: “The way the weather was at the weekend we knew there was going to be a wee bit of damage, but it seems to be more than we’d anticipated.
“The supporters have been fantastic, and we’re really appreciative of that, everyone at the club is.
“It’s January, it’s a tough time for everybody, and they’re digging in and helping us out, so it’s really appreciated by all the management, players and everybody connected with the club – a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who has donated, it’s really appreciated.
“It’s a fantastic response, and it’s great credit to the fans. We don’t have a huge fan-base, but the one we have is really loyal and they’ll do anything for the club, so I can’t thank them enough.
“It’s money that’s otherwise hard to come by, but especially in January.”
Pryce says weather-related call-offs are destroying any chance of the team building a rhythm, which is needed in a seriously tight West of Scotland First Division.
Three points separate leaders St Roch’s and Saturday’s visitors Kilwinning Rangers in sixth, meaning there’s no room for error.
Tucked in behind Rock are Arthurlie, Renfrew, Glencairn and Petershill, with Kilwinning level with Rutherglen on 27 points after 15 games.
Pryce said: “Kilbirnie Ladeside, to their credit, tried their best to get the game on, that’s why it was a late call-off just after 11am, but they couldn’t beat the weather.
“We managed to get a training session organised fairly quickly, and at least the players got something out of Saturday.
“It’s disruptive to the players, trying to get any kind of rhythm up. We’ve only had one competitive match since December 14, and it’s going to be February before we play again. You’re trying to get into the rhythm of training midweek and playing on the Saturday, and we just can’t get it.
“If you have a look at the league table now, we’re halfway through the season and there’s three points separating the top-six. It’s really tight, as this league always is.
“Thorniewood are tucked in just two points behind us in seventh as well, which shows how competitive the division is.
“We’ve got Kilwinning coming up this Saturday, which is going to be a really tough game for us.
“We’re just hoping to get a run of games to get some kind of rhythm, because the league has concertina’d right up, and if you’re only playing one league match in the space of eight weeks, you don’t have much opportunity to get points on the board.
“We know what we’re playing for and what we need to do. Every game in this division has something on it, whether it’s the guys at the top or the ones at the bottom.
“The game on Saturday definitely has something on it, ourselves and Kilwinning, who are level on points, now, so it’s going to be a really tight and tough fixture.
“They’ve hit a good run of form with a 7-1 victory over Ashfield on Saturday, so they’re going to be coming here fully confident and it’s going to be up to us to put in a performance to get the points.”
Glencairn have asked fans to note that the east terracing will be closed on Saturday, due to the damage.