Two heads better than one for Clyde co-boss MacDonald

The pair were appointed joint interim managers until the end of the current campaign following the departure of previous boss Barry Ferguson in February.

The Bully Wee are currently just four points above bottom-placed club Cowdenbeath – who they face on Saturday - and player-boss MacDonald is first to acknowledge they’re right in the thick of a relegation dogfight

He told Ladbrokes News: “Survival is the only target at this moment in time. Realistically, we’re never going to finish in the top spots – that’s out the window – but we can survive and see what the club wants to do next year.

“Then we can see whether me and JP are the two they want to take it on or, if not, then we can only try and make sure Clyde are in the league at the start of next season.

“Me and JP listen to what each other has to say, which I think can only be better than one voice. JP’s been injured for a while and he’s not played as much as he would like, so he’s at the side of the park to make decisions, and when I’m playing I don’t really need to worry about that.

“When there’s a break in play he’ll ask me what I’m thinking about certain things, and I’ll ask him, but then I have to go back on the pitch and JP is left to think it all over and make his decision.

“I feel the two of us have been working well together at the moment. It’s been tough going, but it’s what we want to do.

“I was a coach under the previous regime too, so I’ve always been the go-between in the dressing room to the manager. I’m still a player at the moment, and it’s not a bad thing that I’m still a player.

“We listen to the boys’ views and are very open. If anybody has something to say, they can come into the office and say it. We have meetings with the squad every so often and after every game we ask the players if they have anything to say or if they disagree with anything we’ve said.

“We’ve always got an open door, and if anybody wants to ask anything, they’ll get told the truth.

“We told them that was how we’d work at the very first meeting. Some might not like it, but you can only respect people who are totally open and honest with you.”

Perhaps surprisingly, MacDonald hasn’t properly spoken to Ferguson about his new role at Broadwood, although he reckons the former Rangers captain might not be the greatest sounding board, considering the task at hand.

MacDonald added: “I spoke to him after he left just to wish him good luck with the potential coaching role at Rangers, but I’ve not really spoken to him, to be honest. But I will.

“To be honest, I don’t think there’s very much advice you can get from someone who’s just left the club you’re at.

“I think you just need to look at things yourself and take decisions yourself. Like I said, there’s two of us, so one of us might see something that the other doesn’t. We know how to play off each other.”

MacDonald and McGovern take their players to Cowdenbeath on Saturday in what looks like a relegation six-pointer. The Cumbernauld side are priced at 2/1 with Ladbrokes to claim an away win