'He's been a great player for us' - Bo'ness United boss Max Christie praises Michael Gemmell after skipper makes 200th appearance for BUs

Christie praised Gemmell’s qualities and revealed that the skipper has been under his leadership before, during part of the current BU boss’s term as manager of Bonnyrigg Rose – whom Bo’ness visit in the Lowland League this Saturday – from 2011 to 2014.

“Mikey’s the club captain and he’s a great man,” Christie said. "Great lad, good guy, good footballer. And with Michael you know what you’re getting.

"He puts in a level of performance 90 per cent of the time that’s good enough to win a game of football.

"His strengths are his work-rate, his energy, he can break up play and he can pass the ball as well. So he’s been a great player for us.

"He’s played a lot of games for me over the years. I had him at Bonnyrigg as well, I signed him from Hill of Beath.

"I think I’ve only dropped Michael once since I’ve been the Bo’ness manager.

"So he’s played just about every game for me.”

When asked if Gemmell had felt particularly upset to lose so heavily to Berwick in a landmark game, Christie added: “It was no more than any other game.

"It was disappointing. We had played against Musselburgh midweek and looked free flowing and full of running and making umpteen chances.

"To go out on Saturday, the level of commitment and application needed to go and beat Berwick Rangers wasn’t there.”