They are bottom of the Championship and six points adrift of Arbroath but Cove Rangers captain Mitch Megginson insists his side can still secure their Championship place.
With three games remaining the League One champions have it all to if they are to stay in the second tier.
Hamilton Accies occupy the play-off place, two points ahead of Cove having played a game more, while today’s opponents Arbroath are six points clear, but striker Megginson is refusing to concede defeat.
He said: “We’ve got a chance of finishing eighth and worst-case scenario we can finish ninth.
“We’ve got a massive game at Arbroath and three points there will make it a very interesting final couple of games.
“We’ve still got a lot to play for and survival is certainly still possible for us. It’s just about going out and achieving it.
“It’s pretty straightforward for us, there’s no beating about the bush now. We need points.”
Cove anticipated a challenging campaign
Megginson is not surprised at seeing his club’s fight for survival go to the wire.
The striker anticipated a difficult campaign in the Championship but he believes misfortune has followed his side all season.
He said: “When you have a quick rise up the divisions like we have had to the Championship you know the task is getting tougher every season.
“As a part-time team in a largely full-time league we knew we would be up against it this season.
“It feels like one of those seasons where everyone has gone wrong for us and we’ve had next to no breaks at all.
“There’s been a few key decisions in games which have gone against us as but I don’t think they can be used as excuses though.
“Our performances haven’t been up to the standard required to be successful in the Championship.”
Megginson trying to keep focus on his own club
Injuries have not helped the Cove cause either with several first-team regulars missing for the final three games of the campaign.
Cove boss Paul Hartley labelled the number of injuries the club has endured this season as unprecedented in his career but Megginson knows his side can ill-afford to dwell on who is missing.
He said: “We’ve been unlucky with injuries and we’re down to the bare bones for the final games.
“We get Blair Yule back and all of a sudden he’s out for the rest of the season so we’ve been unlucky on that front.
“But we can’t really look at what happened too much though. The focus has to be on the next three games.”
Hamilton Accies’ 2-1 home defeat by Caley Thistle on Tuesday bolstered Cove’s hopes of avoiding automatic relegation.
The result went in his club’s favour but Megginson insists the focus must remain on his side’s games.
He said: “We’ve got to focus on what we can do. We can’t really worry about what’s happening with other teams.
“The only factors we can control are what happens in our games and that’s all we’ve focused on in training.”
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