Elgin City manager Gavin Price says tonight’s Scottish Cup tie against Clydebank gives the Black and Whites the opportunity to signal a change in fortunes.
City go into this evening’s tie at Holm Park on the back of a poor run of form, which has seen them win just one of their last eight matches in all competitions.
Last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Albion Rovers left the Moray outfit second bottom in League Two, just three points above Cowdenbeath.
Price hopes the change in focus can bring about a strong response from his side.
He said: “It’s a reset button for us all.
“We are all on the same page at the moment – we need a big improvement.
“We will look to get ourselves organised and back playing how we know we can, starting from this game.
“It’s still a good squad of players that I’m sure will turn the corner sooner rather than later.
“This game gives us an opportunity, it’s a great occasion to go and do that.
“The players are determined, I have seen that from the start of this week. We are all in the same boat in making sure we get out of this together.”
Sell-out crowd and television billing adds to occasion
Price is wary of the challenge posed by tonight’s non-league opponents in the televised encounter, which will be played in front of a sell-out crowd.
🎟 Tickets for our SOLD OUT #ScottishCup second round match at home to Elgin City next week will be available for collection at Holm Park this Tuesday between 6-7pm, and on Thursday between 7-8pm. pic.twitter.com/D4bwvtyDtq
— Clydebank FC (@clydebankfc) October 17, 2021
Clydebank are third in the West of Scotland League, with the reformed club taking part in the Scottish Cup for the first time since 2001 following their liquidation the following year.
The Elgin boss says his side must rise to the occasion, adding: “It’s definitely going to be tough given the occasion of it, being on television and a sell-out crowd.
“I have watched them a couple of times over the past few weeks and they are a good side.
“We will be taking absolutely nothing for granted and we will have to perform well to get through.
“We have dealt with these games well in the past so we just need to have that same focus.
“It’s about what we do. It’s as big a game for us as it is for Clydebank.”
Elgin held three training sessions last week, with their central belt based players making the journey north on Saturday to take part in a full squad session.
Price will still be without leading scorer Kane Hester, who remains sidelined due to a leg injury, while the game is also likely to come too soon for defender Matthew Cooper.
The Elgin boss added: “We had a chat with the players and they have trained well this week.
“We got the whole squad up on Saturday which is always beneficial to us.
“We don’t get that opportunity very often so it’s really valuable. When we have it has really helped us.
“Towards the end of last season the league split and we had the first Saturday off, and this really helped us go on a good run to get into the play-offs.”
