Connor Scully says he can see similar “characteristics” in Cove Rangers’ current form and their 2021-22 League One title-winning season.
Paul Hartley’s side, who are third in League One, are in the midst of a 10-game unbeaten run across all competitions and have won seven games on the spin.
They will be aiming for their eighth successive victory when they travel to league leaders Falkirk, who are still unbeaten this season, on Saturday.
For stalwart Scully, Cove’s recent run of form has shades of their League One title-winning season which saw the Balmoral Stadium side go 26 games unbeaten.
Scully said: “We’re playing some good stuff just now. We’re on a bit of a run which is kind of similar to when we won this league.
“We had a similar start that season. If you look back to then we had a slow start to the campaign.
“It’s obviously a lot different now to then. We’ve got the guys who are full-time and some of us are part-time, but I can still see the same characteristics from that run.
“It is a long hard season and there are going to be plenty of ups and downs. Everyone is in the same boat because it is a tough league.
“But right now we are managing to grind out results. I think in the last couple of games we haven’t been at our best, but still managed to get the wins – and that shows the guts of a good team.”
Scully enjoying his football again amid Cove’s unbeaten run
The Cove midfielder believes the signs of his side’s capabilities were always there despite a difficult start to the campaign, but the team – which included 20 new recruits – needed time.
Scully said: “We knew we were just a bit slack at the start of the season.
“We were a new team and it takes time to gel, but now we know each other and our game quite well – and you can see it in the results. Confidence is high.
“At the start of the season we were giving away stupid goals and we were chasing games, but now we’re dealing with the balls coming into the box much better and boys are throwing themselves in front of it.
“We’re 10 unbeaten and seven of those are wins, so it has been fantastic. It’s been good because we’ve got the results even when we haven’t played our best.
After a challenging campaign last term which saw Cove relegated after finishing bottom of the Championship, Scully is delighted to be back winning games of football again.
He said: “It has been good, especially off the back of last season which wasn’t very enjoyable because things didn’t go our way.
“It was a very tough one to take. I was used to coming up through the leagues and winning, pretty much, the majority of my games, so having a season like that was tough physically and mentally.
“We had a slow start to this season, but it has been good. I look at the squad and think there are good players here and there are winners.
“Those are the kind of things we need in the team if we are going to go and be successful this season.”
Scully has started and played the 90 minutes in all of Cove’s 14 league games this season, where he been deployed across the midfield or as a left-back.
He said: “I’ve played all over the place. I just enjoy playing on a Saturday and I’ve known the gaffer long enough that he knows what he gets from me.
“It doesn’t bother me where I play. It’s about going out and helping the team and I will always put in a shift to do that.
“I still feel fit. I’m 31 now, but I keep myself fit and it’s great to still be playing every week.
“I maybe had my doubts (about playing opportunities) at the start of the season with the way the club is going (a full-time model), but the manager has showed faith in me and I’m glad the results have started to go our way.”
Conversation