Just four games have been played this season but already Ronan Hughes has played more than a third of the minutes he managed last term.
Injury hampered his debut campaign at The LIME Stadium at Stair Park but the midfielder showed towards the end of the season what he was capable of doing in a Stranraer shirt.
Hughes thanked the staff behind the scenes for their help last season.
Now, with the Premier Sports League Cup out of the way, Hughes is looking forward to kicking on.
He said: “Last season was terrible, personally, for me.
“I probably do owe a lot to the club, to the manager, Stevie Aitken and Martin Fellowes for keeping me.
“Touch wood, I can stay fit – the hamstring seems to be fine and that was the issue last year.
“I am just looking to kick on.
“At the start of last season, it was stop-start.
“I was injured, came back, went to go again and then did it worse than I had originally done it.
“It was tough last season and, as I said before, I owe a lot to the manager, even Kirsten (Murray, physiotherapist) and Nicole (Watson, sports scientist), who helped me out behind the scenes.
“I do owe a lot to the club and the staff here.
“Hopefully, I can get a good run of games and eventually show what I can do but I just need to take it game by game.”
The 27-year-old played more than an hour against Falkirk on Saturday having also started against Ayr United and Alloa Athletic.
Premiership Falkirk were 3-0 winners in the final group game but Hughes felt there were positives to take from the showing.
He said: “I think if you look at it from more of a tactical point of view we have got a good shape about us.
“Even in the previous games, discarding Tuesday against Edinburgh, which was obviously an off night for us, throughout the cup we have probably done well performance wise but maybe not picked up as many points as we probably wanted.
“We knew it was going to be tough in this group and we are just looking forward to the league starting now.”
That wait is almost over as attention turns to a trip to Clyde.
A number of clubs, including Stranraer, will fancy their chances of battling it out at the top of the table.
Hughes said: “I think everybody is fancying somebody else to win it.
“That is what is good about the leagues this year, not even just League Two, I think they are all very competitive.
“We will just need to see what we can do.
“We have set our own goals internally but we will just take it game by game.”
Last meeting
Stranraer fought back from going behind in the first half to take all three points against Clyde.
Goalkeeper Lyndon Tas had pulled off a brilliant save to keep out Robbie Leitch but Clyde kept the pressure on and Nathan Cannon scored. The scores were level just before the break and Cannon was again involved as he was the unlucky man turning Finn Ecrepont’s corner into his own net.
The game was turned on its head when Jay Hogarth punched clear a Dom Plank cross and Evan Dunne rattled home the loose ball.
Finally, Stranraer made sure of the points in bizarre circumstances. Deryn Lang collected a long ball, was injured, rounded the goalkeeper and put the ball in the net.
Stranraer: Tas, Reid, McGrath, Dunne, Stuart, Ecrepont, Plank (Lynch 82), Hunter (Gillies 82), Hughes (Quigg 71), Turay (Dolan 64), Lang (McManus 70).
Not used: Docherty, McKnight and Burns.
Clyde: Hogarth, Robson, Howie, Hynes, Cuddihy (Fleming 66), Leitch, Redfern (McGinlay 72), Dunachie, Cannon (Williamson 66), Murdoch (Niang 72), Connell (Connolly 85).
Not used: Lyon and Kinnear.
Last five meetings
- Stranraer 3 Clyde 1 (Own Goal, Dunne and Lang; Cannon) at The LIME Stadium at Stair Park on March 24, 2026
- Clyde 2 Stranraer 1 (Cuddihy and Leitch; Hughes) at New Douglas Park on March 21, 2026
- Clyde 0 Stranraer 0 at New Douglas Park on November 8, 2025
- Stranraer 1 Clyde 1 (O’Donnell; Hilton) at The LIME Stadium at Stair Park on August 23, 2025
- Stranraer 1 Clyde 2 (Russell; Rennie x2) at The LIME Stadium at Stair Park on March 29, 2025
Last five games
Stranraer
- LOSS v Falkirk (A): 3-0
- LOSS v Edinburgh City (H): 0-2
- DRAW v Alloa Athletic (A): 2-2 (Alloa Athletic win 4-3 on penalties) (Gillie and Quigg)
- LOSS v Ayr United (H): 2-3 (Dolan (Pen) and Traynor)
- WIN v Elgin City (A): 0-1 (Foster)
Clyde
- LOSS v Dundee (A): 4-0
- WIN v Annan Athletic (H): 4-1 (Connell x3 and Redfern)
- LOSS v Ross County (A): 3-1 (Cannon)
- WIN v Airdrieonians (H): 1-0 (Connell)
- LOSS v Hamilton Academical (A): 4-3 (Own goal, Connell and Dunachie)
Last time out
Stranraer
Lineup v Falkirk: Currie, Dunne, Nair, Gillie, Coll (Ecrepont 70), Quigg (Binnie 82), Traynor, Bruce (Stuart 67), Healy, Hughes (Dolan 67), Dobbie (Cleland 82).
Not used: McLuckie, Lynch and Henderson.
Clyde
Lineup v Dundee: Hogarth, Hynes (Cruden 57), Lovering, Fleming, Strachan, Redfern, Cuddihy (Kiltie 78), Dunachie, Rooney, Williamson, Connell (Hilton 55).
Not used: Terry.
Transfers
Stranraer
Ins: Murray Binnie (St Johnstone), Zach Bruce (Hibernian, loan), Connor Cameron (Renfrew), Dean Cleland (Hibernian), Lewis Dobbie (East Kilbride), Lewis Gillie (Hibernian, loan), Aaron Healy (Arthurlie), Mark McLuckie (Bo’ness United), Kenzi Nair (Heart of Midlothian), Dominic Plank (Heart of Midlothian) and Archie Traynor (Kilmarnock, loan).
Outs: Ryan Edgar (Cumnock Juniors), Matthew Gillies (Heart of Midlothian, end of loan), Lewis Hunter (Caledonian Braves), Deryn Lang (Dumbarton), Joseph McGrath (Hibernian, end of loan), Kirk McKnight (Annan Athletic), Corey O’Donnell (Annan Athletic), Lewis Reid (Ross County), Tommy Sharp (Cumnock Juniors), Lyndon Tas (Heart of Midlothian, end of loan), Sallu Turay (Linlithgow Rose), Sean Docherty and Robbie Foster.
Clyde
Ins: Jamie Bradley (Queen’s Park), Nathan Cannon (Forfar Athletic), Thomas Cruden (St Cadoc’s), Jay Hogarth (Falkirk, loan), Chris Inglis (East Stirlingshire), Bobby Kiltie (EMC Academy), Lewis Lovering (Troon), Liam Rooney (Partick Thistle, loan), Timam Scott (East Kilbride) and Bruce Strachan (East Kilbride).
Outs: Lewis Connolly (Annan Athletic), Jay Hogarth (Falkirk), Brian Kinnear (Greenock Morton), Robbie Leitch (Edinburgh City), Ross Lyon (Caledonian Braves), Aiden McGinlay (Queen’s Park, end of loan), Tommy Robson (Dumbarton), Liam Scullion (Elgin City), Shay Nevans and Mouhamed Niang,
Five facts
- Last weekend, Stranraer attempted to score past Falkirk goalkeeper Nicky Hogarth. This weekend, they could be trying to score against his brother, Jay Hogarth. Back in 2008, Stranraer did score against their dad, Myles Hogarth, who played for Stirling Albion.
- Saturday is the birthday of a handful of former Stranraer players, including frontman Kenny Wright, who turns 41. He spent a single season at Stranraer in 2006/07. His first goal for the club came away to Raith Rovers. The visiting side was: Black, Snowdon, Wilson, Hodge, Sharp, Hamilton, Aitken, Crilly, Wright (McKinstry 88), McGroarty (McMullan 77), Nicholas (Burns 74). Not used: Ramsay and Morrison. A certain Armand One scored the equaliser for the Fife club.
- May 1998 remains the same last time Stranraer won away to Clyde in the league. Alan Lansdowne scored the only goal of the game with 10 minutes left.
- James Dolan’s goal at Borough Briggs on the opening day of the 2023/24 season was the last time Stranraer won their opening league fixture away from home.
- The last time Stranraer failed to find the net in three consecutive games was at the end of the 2023/24 season. Then, the Blues went four games without scoring – a 1-0 defeat to Clyde, followed by goalless draws against Spartans and Dumbarton, before a 2-0 loss to Forfar Athletic.
Admission
Supporters are encouraged to purchase their tickets online in advance to take advantage of discounted prices and to help reduce queues on matchday.
All away fans should enter through the main reception door on the day. There will be no turnstile entry.
Advance ticket prices:
- Adult – £16
- Over 65 – £13
- Under 18 – £5
- Under 12 – FREE with an Adult or Over 65 ticket using promo code KIDSGOFREE
Matchday prices:
- Adult – £17
- Over 65 – £14
- Under 18 – £8
- Under 12 – £5
Merchandise
Our brand new Argentina-inspired replica away shirts are available for purchase via the online Club Shop. You can order yours online now, along with a range of Blues merchandise.
Podcast
In our latest edition of club podcast, we preview the 2026/27 William Hill League Two season and review the Blues’ Premier Sports Cup exploits.
Coverage
If you can’t make it, you can follow our live matchday updates on X (formerly Twitter).
The manager’s post-match reaction will be available on YouTube following the game.
Club 1870 subscribers get a first look at the goals on Saturday night, along with full match footage.
Extended highlights will be available via YouTube on Sunday morning, with Laurence Nelson returning to the lineup alongside Brian Martin on commentary.
Photos: Bill McCandlish, Dylan Heron, Colin Poultney (Collarge Images), Alloa Athletic