Gavin Price insists his Elgin City side are ready to deliver a knock-out blow to Albion Rovers to avoid dropping to the bottom of League Two.
On Tuesday, Elgin were edged out 1-0 away to league leaders Stirling Albion – just four days after the Binos posted a 3-0 victory at Borough Briggs to make it 14 games without defeat.
It means Elgin have won only one of their last 11 games and have earned just two league wins in 2023 so far.
They sit just three points above Saturday’s hosts, but also have a worse goal difference, so any Rovers win would send Elgin to the foot of the division.
Dale Carrick’s goal for Stirling on the cusp of half-time was all that mattered in the end, although manager Price felt, on another day, Elgin would have been heading north with the win.
Huge fixture for both teams – Price
For now, he’s driving his men on to deliver a crucial win as they have just six games to go.
He said: “There is no hiding from that fact how important the game is.
“We will prepare and treat it as such. We want to carry on from Tuesday night’s performance and, if we can do that, we can hopefully get the victory.
“We know three points would be massive for us. It’s a big game for both teams, there’s no doubt about that. We will be up for the fight.
“On Tuesday, we were back to our old selves in terms of the way we played and kept our shape and defended.
“Given the chances we created, we should have won the game. It’s as simple as that.
“Stirling goalkeeper Blair Currie was man of the match. He had three or four fantastic saves. We were just not clinical enough, but we take heart from that.
“If we continue to play like that, we will be okay and pick up points. We will dust ourselves down and get on with it.”
Elgin wary of attack-minded Rovers
Last week, Rovers made veteran coach and manager Sandy Clark their new head coach, replacing Brian Reid.
Clark, who alongside now Stirling boss Darren Young, guided the Coatbridge club to a Second Division title in 2014-15, has most recently been at Lowland League side East Stirlingshire.
The 66-year-old’s first game in charge of Rovers was last week’s 2-1 defeat at in-form Forfar Athletic.
Despite the dug-out switch, Price doesn’t expect major changes and is aware of their opponents’ attacking potential.
He added: “I’m not sure if they will do too much differently so late in the season.
“Albion Rovers have got some very dangerous players, especially in the forward areas. We know what we’re up against. We have to be ready for it and be on top form.”
Albion’s main danger man up top, Charlie Reilly, who has netted 22 goals this season, was missing from the squad for last week’s trip to Forfar.
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