Elgin City manager Gavin Price feels his players are showing the right signals as the Black and Whites aim to produce momentum in League Two.
City ended a six-match winless run with a 1-0 victory at home to Cowdenbeath last week, which was only their third league triumph of the season.
The result moved Elgin six points clear of the bottom-placed Blue Brazil, with the opportunity to leapfrog today’s opponents Stranraer into eighth with another victory at Stair Park.
Despite a series of disappointing results, including a Scottish Cup replay defeat to West of Scotland League side Clydebank, Price has sensed an improvement from his players in recent weeks.
Price has urged his side to back that up with a run of consistency.
He said: “The last couple of performances have been much more like it. We were very unlucky not to get anything from the Forfar game the week before.
“It should have been a lot more comfortable against Cowdenbeath if we had taken our chances. But getting the three points was the important thing.
“Hopefully it’s a platform now to go on. We have been saying it all season, we have been waiting for the consistency to kick in.
“I have certainly seen enough in the last couple of performances, and parts of the cup games, that we are getting very close to the standards we have set in the last couple of years.
“The standard of training has definitely upped in the last few weeks. That’s hopefully now transforming on to the park on a Saturday.
“We know we are capable of going down to Stranraer and winning. Every game is different, and a new challenge.
“Stranraer are a different team to last season. If we play at our potential like we have in the last two weeks, I think we have a good chance of winning the game.”
MacEwan a key component in Black and Whites side
Midfielder Rory MacEwan has been an impressive performer for the Black and Whites, netting two goals in his last four games.
MacEwan was named in the SPFL team of the week for his display in the triumph against Cowdenbeath.
Congratulations @rory_macewan ….well deserved place in @spfl Team of the Week ⚽️🙌 https://t.co/ZvlBsSs4ez
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) November 16, 2021
Price believes the 23-year-old has come to the fore in Elgin’s time of need.
He added: “Rory has been outstanding at training for the last four or five weeks. He has been really buzzing and on top of it.
“I have always said to him that if he does that it will transform his performances on a Saturday.
“He has been excellent for the past four weeks. That’s good news as far as we are concerned.”
Leading scorer Kane Hester made his comeback from the bench last weekend, playing the final 30 minutes following a two-month hamstring injury absence.
Price will closely monitor the forward’s condition, adding: “He has had no reaction from the game, which is a positive step.
“Kane contributed in the game, and looked dangerous. It’s something we will just need to assess, and see how much of the game we are able to play him.”
