Cove Rangers’ injury crisis is so severe manager Paul Hartley was forced to cancel training for the League One play-off chasers this week.
The Cove boss could only name three outfield players on his bench at Falkirk last weekend and one of them was striker Rumarn Burrell, who was not fully fit.
Late fitness doubts Aaron Darge and Josh Kerr were among the players who managed to start the game against the Bairns.
With more unnamed players suffering injuries in the 5-1 defeat, and Mitch Megginson, Blair Yule and Matty Shiels all still absent, Hartley has taken no further chances ahead of Saturday’s trip to Annan Athletic.
He said: “We’re struggling and we’ll be looking at the same squad this week. We’re really short on numbers and we only really had two subs last weekend as Rumarn was struggling.
“We’ve had no training at all this week so we’ll just have to wait and see where we are at the weekend.
“We’ve tried non-contact in training, but at this point we’re having to wrap everyone in cotton wool because of the situation.
“We picked up some more injuries at Falkirk and we have to try to keep them ready for Annan.
“It’s not ideal, but we have to do it as we’re looking at having the same numbers this weekend.”
Cove boss backs available players to deliver
Despite a lengthy absentee list, the Cove manager is confident those available can deliver the results required in the last four league matches to secure the club a play-off place in League One.
Cove slipped out of the play-off positions on goal difference following their defeat at Falkirk, but with fourth-placed Montrose facing third-placed Alloa on Saturday before Alloa visit Cove next week, Hartley expects further twists and turns in the play-off race.
He said: “We’ve got enough experience to get us through the next four games and after that hopefully we can one or two back.
“We’ve been unfortunate with the amount of injuries we’ve had to key players, but all we can do is go with the squad we’ve got.
“We’ve still got a good enough starting XI, but when we looked round last week and saw what Falkirk had on the bench, we were struggling for options in terms of guys we could bring on.
“In the first half, we did really well and we had good periods in the second half, but the numbers we’re going with just now is an issue.
“We’ve got people playing with injuries who are starting games.
“It’s not ideal, but we have to get on with it.”
Hartley wants repeat performance against Annan
Cove have won the three previous league meetings with Annan this season, including a 3-1 win at Galabank in December.
Hartley is taking nothing for granted, however, and believes his side will need to produce a repeat display to take all three points.
He said: “The key thing is getting a good result. Annan have their own agenda as they are fighting to stay up.
“People had written them off, but they are a good team.
“We’re at the stage where we have to find a way to pick up the points. We’ve got four games left and we will try to win them, but you never know, there might be a wee twist.
“I always say make sure we take it to the last game and there is something to play for when we go into the Edinburgh game.
“We had a good result last time down there, so hopefully we can go back down, produce another good performance and get the same result.”
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