Elgin City manager Gavin Price is taking nothing for granted as his League Two side get set for successive games against the bottom two clubs.
On Tuesday night, Elgin face ninth-placed Albion Rovers at Borough Briggs before hosting Forfar Athletic on Saturday.
City could barely be going into the week in better form, having lost just one of their last 11 matches.
Saturday’s gripping 3-2 win at Stranraer took them to within one point of fourth-placed East Fife.
A victory over Rovers in their rescheduled clash will move Elgin only one point away from third-placed Stenhousemuir.
Any dips will be punished in League Two – Price
While confident his players can continue their fine form, Price also knows any dip in performance opens the door for their opponents.
He said: “It’s too early in the season to talk about teams being the bottom two in the league because it’s so tight.
“There are only six points between fourth and 10th position, so that doesn’t have any bearing on the games. There is very little between all the sides in League Two this season. If you don’t turn up on any given day, you’ll come undone.
“We’ve played Forfar already (in a 2-2 away draw). They’ve got good players and they’re a good side.
“Albion Rovers got a win on Saturday, and we need to just concentrate on what we’ve been doing.”
Winning is becoming a healthy habit
Manager Price, whose team finished ninth last term, is delighted to see City show what they’re capable of so far.
And he hopes their growing confidence can help push them further forward.
He said: “We’ve every right to be confident, because our performance levels have been very good, we’re scoring a lot of goals an creating a lot of chances.
“A lot of the players are in good form and we’re getting used to winning games.
“It’s important to use that as a springboard to keep this run going.
“When it was difficult last season, when you could see the other side of the coin when you’re looking for wins.
“Hopefully, this can be a big week for us before we have our Scottish Cup tie (v Camelon Juniors, second round). All our focus is on Albion Rovers and only then will we look at Forfar.”
Price feels his side clicked quickly this season and have not looked back, with a fourth-round SPFL Trust Trophy tie against Clyde also to come on December 10.
He added: “I don’t want to keep looking back at the points we dropped earlier in the season, but we’ve led in games and ended up drawing through certain circumstances.
“I always felt we were in a pretty good place. Our form has been good and confidence has been high really since after the very first league game of the season against East Fife.
“I’ve been relatively happy with performances in the cup and the league. We’ve only lost once in 11 games now and we just need to keep it going and maintain our work rate.”
FULL TIME
Stranraer 2 – 3 Elgin City
Brilliant performance from the boys gives us our third win in a row with 12 goals in our last 3 games.
⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/1XGfA2bJfy
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) October 8, 2022
Momentum rising with every win
Saturday’s winning display down at Stranraer was impressive, sealed by Darryl McHardy’s clincher.
Price feels the determination to push for maximum points is taking Elgin far.
He said: “As you’d expect away from home, we had to defend well – and especially towards the end of the game, we did that.
“We scored another three goals and it was an entertaining game, which we’ve come out on top of, which is encouraging.
“Earlier in the season, we’d have drawn these kinds of games, so it’s good we’re now coming out with three points. It’s an important win to keep the momentum going.
“Saturday’s win keeps us in touch for the top four positions. It’s so tight in the league – every game is going to be important.”
Club captain Matthew Cooper is added to Tuesday’s squad after being rested for the Stranraer trip after carrying a knock recently.
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