Cove Rangers manager Paul Hartley has hailed “top professional” Fraser Fyvie and insists the midfielder will have a big role to play in the club’s push for promotion in League One.
Fyvie made his first appearance in more than three months due to a knee injury in his side’s 2-1 win against Annan Athletic last weekend.
Having missed eight months previously due to an ankle injury Hartley is delighted to have the 30-year-old back in the fold.
He said: “You can see he hasn’t played for a while and we had to take him off as he was a little leggy but he has another week of training behind him and he will get better as the weeks go on.
“He takes the ball and controls the game which we need.
“Since I came back he has missed a lot of football. I think he’s played around a dozen games in a year.
“He’s missed a lot of games and had a few operations due to injuries in his career but he is a top professional in how he works to get back into good condition.
“We were pleased with the 77 minutes and we’re building him up in training.
“We’ve got three games in the next week and we’ll need to be careful in his workload but it’s great to have him back.”
Wins are all that matter for Cove
Fyvie’s return helped Cove record their first league win of 2024 and moved Hartley’s side back into the play-off places in fourth.
The Cove boss has challenged his side to put together a winning run to ensure they stay there.
He said: “It was a big win for us and that’s what the business end of the season is all about, winning.
“We kept going to the end and got the vital goal which was important but we have to build on it this week.
“We know we can play better but I was pleased to get back to winning ways.
“We’ve got to build on this result and it’s always about the next game at this stage of the season.”
Hartley not taking Edinburgh lightly
Cove will be looking to record back-to-back wins when they travel to bottom club Edinburgh City on Saturday.
City are 17 points adrift at the foot of the table following a six-point deduction and destined for a return to League Two but Hartley believes his opponents should not be taken lightly.
Hartley said: “I saw Edinburgh City in their draw against Queen of the South where they were very good and they started really well against Stirling Albion last week and were unlucky against Kelty Hearts.
“You can’t take someone lightly because of their points tally.
“They have a young, energetic team and they just go for it. They are playing with freedom and they pass the ball well.
“It’s a warning to our players if you don’t start well or are not on your game you can easily lose.
“We have to keep our focus, keep working hard and pick up as many points as we can.
“We realise how tight that top four is between four clubs.”
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