Former Cove Rangers captain Eric Watson insists it is no surprise that confidence will be low at the club just now.
Cove have won just once this year and were on the receiving end of a heavy 6-1 defeat to Raith Rovers last weekend.
The Aberdeen side, in their first season in the Championship, are embroiled in a three-way battle at the bottom. They sit in eighth, a point better off than Arbroath and Hamilton Accies but with the two sides below them both having a game in hand.
After a halcyon period for Cove, where they were used to winning trophies, this season has delivered a sharp reality check.
Watson, who skippered Cove for much of that successful period, would expect belief to take a hit when results have not been coming.
“Confidence must be at an all-time low, which is not something that squad will be used to,” said Watson. “The trajectory they have been on, it was always going to be hard to maintain.
“Hopefully they can get themselves together for the last six or seven games and put enough points on the board to give themselves a chance of avoiding relegation.
“This isn’t something the club has been used to, even when I started with them 15 years ago. It’s going to be strange for the team just now.
“Just now, they seem to be getting blown out of the water and heads are going down.
“There’s guys in there with experience and these are the ones they will be looking to in hard times. They’ve a lot of new guys in there so they need experience to make sure they are all pulling in the right direction.
“These guys are not getting signed for Cove in the Championship if they’re not good players. They need to dig deep and do all they can to help Cove stay up.”
Unfamiliar territory for most in the Cove squad
Watson struggles to recount too many times of adversity during his long, successful stint with the club.
But there is one spell, after Cove won the Highland League title in 2013, which proved difficult to navigate.
“We lost a couple of guys through injury and we just couldn’t get a win for six games or so,” he added. “Once that mentality is in it’s difficult to change.
“It was a horrible feeling round the club, like a dark cloud was hanging over you.
“You need a bit of luck as well. That and hard work are the only things that are going to get you out of this position.”
Cove have seven games to go to preserve their status in the second tier for another season, with head-to-heads against both Arbroath and Hamilton to come.
“In the cold light of day, they are a club who have not even been in the Scottish leagues for five years,” said Watson. “The success they have had, you can’t sustain that forever.
“If they can stay in this league this season, rebuild and get a few new faces in the summer, I’m sure they will see it as a success.
“They’ve got Arbroath and Hamilton both to play away, so that’s going to add a bit of pressure. Not to be involved in the relegation battle would be a bonus but giving themselves a chance (at survival) is probably as much as they will aim for just now.”
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