Cove Rangers skipper Mitch Megginson insists they need to treat their battle against relegation the same as if they were challenging for trophies.
Cove have been used to perennially winning honours and being contenders at the top end of divisions on their ascent from the Highland League to the second tier.
On their Championship bow this season, the going has proved much tougher. They have lost their last five games and have only won once in their last 13 games.
The survival struggle at the bottom is a three-way tussle between Cove, Arbroath and Hamilton Accies.
Arbroath leap-frogged Paul Hartley’s side with victory over Queen’s Park on Friday night and Hamilton, who are a point behind at the bottom, have two games in hand.
Megginson has been an integral part of Cove’s success over the past decade and the unfamiliar surroundings the club find themselves in has taken some getting used to.
But they can ill-afford to feel sorry for themselves, with just six games remaining to have their say in the relegation contest.
‘We’re not dead and buried’
“I’ve not been on a run like this,” said Megginson. “You’ve got to keep positive, keep working hard.
“We’re obviously low on confidence, but we’ve got to keep ourselves going. We’re not dead and buried.
“We’ve got six games to save our season and that’s what we’ve got to aim for.
“You’ve got to fight for survival and it’s no different to that (challenging for silverware) – there’s just no trophy at the end of it.
“For where we’ve come from, it was always going to be a case of battling to stay in the league.
“It’s a hard league to be in. We knew that. It’s not gone to plan, but let’s be realistic – we’ve got six games to give ourselves a chance to stay up.
“We’ve got to keep everyone’s heads up until we do that.”
‘We’ve got to stay as positive as we can’
Cove’s last win came at the start of February away to Partick Thistle, which is still their only win on the road this campaign.
They were beaten 3-0 on Friday night at Ayr United, with similar shortcomings proving their downfall once again.
“At this stage, you’d take anything,” said Megginson. “Something will change for us.
“I don’t think we’ve had anything like that this season. So it’ll come for us. We need to keep believing and pushing hard.”
Cove have got both Hamilton and Arbroath to play away from home in the final six games of the season, contests which could prove pivotal in deciding who stays in the Championship.
They welcome Partick to the Balmoral Stadium this Saturday, a side who have not beaten Cove in six league meetings between the two teams.
“We’ve got to stay as positive as we can,” added Megginson. “We lose as a team and take it on the chin.
“It’s the goals (conceded) that are killing us. They’re not even breaking us down easily, but I think we can cut it out.”
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