Elgin City manager Gavin Price has urged his side to use the remainder of the campaign to prove they should be higher placed in League Two.
City are in home action on Saturday against a Stenhousemuir side who are still firmly in play-off contention, with only three points separating them from fourth-placed Edinburgh City.
Elgin are well out of that chase, having fallen 11 points adrift of the play-off positions in ninth spot.
The Borough Briggs men have shown up strongly in a recent run of one loss from six games, however, which has seen them go undefeated against Kelty Hearts, Forfar Athletic and Edinburgh City.
Price is eager to finish the season on a high, to prove their slow start to the campaign is long behind them.
He said: “If we keep playing the way we have been playing, hopefully we can finish as high up the league as we can.
“The aim is to get three points on Saturday and see where that takes us.
“It’s a chance for the players to prove a point before the end of the season. It’s also a chance to get higher up the league.
“The proof is in the pudding, but I think they have shown with the results against the top four teams that we were holding our own.
“We got quite convincing wins against Stirling Albion and Edinburgh City at home.
“I think our stuttering start to the season is a bit of a hammer blow, because I do believe we should and could have been challenging for the top four.”
Elgin aiming for fourth straight shut-out
City have lost just one goal in their last 489 minutes of football, and go into today’s game against Stenny on the back of three straight clean sheets.
Price feels continuity in selection has been key, adding: “The form has been pretty good.
“Defensively it’s four clean sheets in five games which has been a bedrock, although we are still probably not scoring enough goals.
“In the Edinburgh game, we created a number of chances, and should probably have had more.
“Other than that we are not scoring a lot, but we are not conceding. We definitely seem to have a more settled way about us.
“There has been a wee bit of consistency of selection and hopefully that goes on.”
City defending from the front
Elgin have been without experienced defensive duo Euan Spark and Daryl McHardy in recent weeks.
That has paved the way for 21-year-old Kane O’Connor to get his chance, following the former Hibernian youth player’s arrival in January.
Price feels the defensive improvement has been a full team effort, and he added: “For missing three or four key players, it has been a good return of late.
“Kane has done well. He has slotted in quite comfortably and formed a good partnership with Ross Draper.
“I’m pleased with the whole back four, generally speaking it has been Matthew Cooper and Evan Towler along with the two centre-halves, and Daniel Hoban in goals. They have done well together.
“I think we have defended a lot better as a team. You defend from the front and the strikers have got to do their job within that. Kane Hester and Josh Peters have played the last couple of games, and they have been working hard at that aspect, as well as Rabin Omar when he wasn’t suspended.
“Everybody knows their role and what they have got to do. It’s just frustrating it’s clicking late in the season, but we just need to make sure we finish the season as well as we can.”
