ARTHURLIE boss Andy McFadyen believes it will take a number of games for his new-look team to get used to his football philosophy.

The former Rutherglen Glencairn Under-21 manager joined the Barrhead club in April and has overhauled the squad since then, with no fewer than 15 new signings joining six players who have been retained from last season.

McFadyen admits that, with so many new players arriving at the club, it will take time for things to click but he hopes to have his troops firing on all cylinders once the competitive action in the new West of Scotland Football League kicks off on October 10.

He told Barrhead Sport: “It’ll take a few games for us to work out what we’ve got to do and work on. It’s going to take four, five or six games.

“The players have got to get their legs stretched and get 90 minutes under their belts.

“It’s a brand new team, so they’re all getting used to playing alongside each other and that’s going to take time as well.

“We have a lot of brand new players and it takes time for them to gel and get to know each other.”

Arthurlie are joined by the likes of Johnstone Burgh, Forth Wanderers, Girvan, Lesmahagow, Maryhill, Shotts Bon Accord and Whitletts Victoria in Conference A of the new league set-up.

And McFadyen has been using pre-season friendlies to boost his players’ fitness and get them used to his style of football.

The Barrhead team recorded a keenly-contested 1-1 draw with local rivals Neilston before cruising to a 4-0 victory over Premiership club Rossvale, thanks to a brace from Dale Simeon and further strikes from Jordan Leyden and Tam McGaughey.

McFadyen admits witnessing the derby dust-up with Neilston was something of an eye-opener for him.

“The derby aspect is new to me,” he said. “There wasn’t any love lost between the teams.

“I think a draw was the fair result as we both had good spells in each half.

“You could tell it was the first game back for the teams because everyone was hungry and tackling and there was plenty of energy.

“It was good that most of our players were able to get 45 minutes under their belt. Just now, it’s about getting players some game time until the league starts.”

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