Trips to England have been rather rare in recent years, although did make a welcome return last season when we went to Carlisle and then Accrington Stanley. Tomorrow's game was meant to be part of a double header before Morecambe got a better offer and unceremoniously chucked us, which was awfully nice of them. Fortunately, Stockport stuck by us and so will be our opposition in our only friendly down south this summer.
Those Buddies making the trip tomorrow are likely to get a glimpse of Danny Grainger. The former Hearts defender didn't do too badly against Queen of the South during the week - apart from his header that cost us a penalty - and will probably be given another chance to win a contract. What sort of defence we go with is anyone's guess, the constant changing of personnel and systems suggesting Danny Lennon is still looking for his preferred option.
Hopefully we'll see Paul McGowan and John McGinn back in midfield, while Gary Teale will probably start after only being a sub on Wednesday. Jon Robertson and David Cornell could be involved depending on fitness but we'll definitely be without both David Barron and Kenny McLean. Hopefully, a few of the younger lads get a shot tomorrow as the likes of Mo Yaqub and Anton Brady must have been rather frustrated not to play in Dumfries.
I'll be honest, I don't know a great deal about Stockport. I know they play at Edgeley Park which, if you squint a bit and use your imagination a lot, looks like a bigger, more advanced Cappielow. I had thought they played in the Blue Square Premier but last season they were relegated from that - despite starting the season with Dietmar Hamann in charge. Clearly all is not well for the Hatters and in the upcoming season they'll be aiming to make it back into the Premier as they look to return to the Football League in the near future.
My knowledge of the club looks encyclopedic when you compare it to what I know of Stockport's playing squad. Thankfully they have the odd player I recognise from kicking around the Football League, the most high profile being Phil Jevons. Admittedly my knowledge of him is mainly gleaned from his appearances in reports on the terrific www.htfc-world.com website but he seems to have a decent scoring record and should be able to do a job at this level. He played in the Conference last season and scored 15 goals for a side that narrowly avoided relegation, so he should in theory be able to score for fun for a team that aims to be challenging for promotion from a division lower.
Stephen O'Halloran is another name I recognise, although that's probably because I used to take him on loan from Aston Villa while playing Football manager more than anything else. He's been signed after playing for Nuneaton Town last season, while Kyle Jacobs spent the season at the brilliantly named FC United of Manchester - set up by fans disillusioned by what was happening at Man Utd. Jamie Hand once played for Livingston on loan, while Iain Howard is looking for a double after helping Chester win promotion to the Premier last season. And I'm afraid that's about the extent of my knowledge!
Details of this game – or any other news – won't be online until Sunday as I'm away for the next few days. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Follow Mirren Mad on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mirrenmad
Follow Mirren Mad on Twitter @mirren_mad or http://www.twitter.com/mirren_mad