Elgin City manager Gavin Price insists opening day League 2 opponents East Fife will show no ill-effects from their 7-0 pasting by Ross County last week.
Stevie Crawford’s men, who dropped down a division in April, are expected to be one of the main title contenders, with Elgin also keen to rejoin the upper bunch after an ninth-place finish last term.
The teams have both come through some punishing group ties in the Premier Sports Cup ahead of this weekend’s league games kicking off.
Elgin ended rock-bottom of Group F without a point, although a 0-0 draw earned at Championship hosts Ayr United was wiped out by a 3-0 defeat as punishment for fielding an ineligible player.
They then lost 4-0 to League 2 foes Annan Athletic, were beaten 4-2 by Premiership St Johnstone at Borough Briggs before ending last week with a 2-0 home loss against Championship visitors Queen of the South.
East Fife met a resurgent, new-look, Ross County a week ago and were brushed aside by a Staggies’ power show.
They did, however, finish fourth in Group C with four points thanks to a 3-2 win over Buckie Thistle and a 1-1 draw against Alloa Athletic.
Fifers will be ready for league opener
Price is relishing the start of a fresh league campaign and is sure their the Fifers will already be over what happened at the Global Energy Stadium.
He said: “I won’t read anything into the scoreline at Ross County. That can happen to any League 2 side when you hit a Premiership team on their day.
“It’s a very tough ask and we’ve been on the back of some heavy defeats in the League Cup over the years and it doesn’t take away from what lies ahead in the league.
“Saturday will still be a hard game for us, there’s no doubt about that.
“It’s the first game of the league season and both teams will be looking to get off to a good start.
“We’re looking forward to getting started and you just don’t know which teams will be up at the top end of the table this season.
“Every game is difficult and every team can beat any other, so we just have to ensure we’re up for it. If you do that more times than not you will be alright.”
Elgin looking for more new signings
This summer, Elgin City have added defenders Jevan Anderson, Jake Dolzanski and Owen Cairns and midfielders Kenny MacInnes and Chris Antoniazzi.
This week, they allowed striker Josh Peters to join last year’s Highland League runners-up Buckie Thistle.
The 25-year-old began with a debut goal in the Jags’ Evening Express Aberdeenshire Cup penalty shoot-out loss against Formartine United, which followed a 2-2 draw.
Price hopes to add at least two more players, including another striker, to his pool, but admits it’s a game of patience right now.
He said: “We are still working away, looking to bring more players in.
“It has been quite a frustrating time. Players we’ve targeted are not quite ready to be loaned out for other clubs’ reasons, perhaps due to injuries or suspensions for example.
“I would have preferred to have had one or two in by now.
“However, we still have a strong group of players available for Saturday.”
Price praises departed striker Peters
The City boss explained, with young guns Fin Allen and Dylan Lawrence breaking through to the first-team, he was willing to let Peters move on to secure the player’s desire for regular action.
He added: “Josh was a bit frustrated by the lack of game-time, which is understandable at his age.
“Josh has been great to work with and his attitude has been first-class.
“We have seen Fin Allen and Dylan Lawrence coming through as well this season. We felt it was their time to shine, which is why we felt we could afford to let Josh move on.
“And we didn’t want to stand in his way and wish him all the best.”
Midweek cup clash was good City test
On Tuesday, Elgin fielded a sprinkling of younger players with seniors as they survived a second half comeback to beat hosts Nairn County 2-1 in the North of Scotland Cup. They will take on holders Rothes in the quarter-finals on August 17.
Price felt it was a useful 90 minutes for some players ahead of the league opener this weekend.
He said: “I enjoyed the game and I was really pleased with the younger players, particularly in the first half when I thought we were excellent.
“They had a different challenge in the second half. Nairn came at us and threw everything at us, so it was a wee bit untidy.
“We didn’t have a lot of depth to our squad on Tuesday. We were resting players for Saturday.
“The senior players carried themselves really well though and it was a good test for some of the younger players and they’ve come through it. One or two have shown they want to push for a start.”
Elgin, meanwhile, have confirmed the appointment of former Lossiemouth, Huntly and Deveronvale manager Charlie Charlesworth as first-team coach.
Charlesworth will assist Price and assistant Jim Weir, and he said: “I feel proud, honoured and privileged to be returning back to Elgin City after 15 years away.
“I’m especially excited to support in anyway I can, the chairman, committee, management team and the players.
“There have been major improvements in every area of the club over the years and it all amounts to an exciting and vibrant environment.
“I’ve had a warm welcome from many people and fans and I hope I can play my part in helping the gaffer, Jim and the club in general to keep driving us forward.”
Conversation