Elgin City manager Barry Smith is intent on making his side a force to be reckoned with at Borough Briggs.
Smith will take charge of his first home game of the Black and Whites on Saturday, when Dumbarton make the trip north.
City have taken two points from their opening five League Two fixtures, with only goal difference keeping them above bottom side East Fife.
Smith says home form will be crucial to Elgin’s prospects of moving up the table.
He said: “It’s important we start winning games at home.
“We want the fans to be happy, and to see a team that’s going to work hard on the pitch.
“If you get a team that is giving everything on the pitch, and is a threat going forward, the fans will stay behind you.
“That’s what we will be looking to do.
“The boys have been excellent in training. They have worked really hard and taken on board what we have tried to say to them.
“You would expect that, so it’s just about taking it on to Saturday to try and get three points.”
Display against Ton gives Smith encouragement
Smith, who replaced Ross Draper as manager earlier this month, began his reign with a narrow 2-1 defeat away to Morton in the SPFL Trust Trophy last Saturday.
The former Dundee and Raith Rovers boss hopes to build on a promising display against second-tier opposition at Cappielow.
He added: “The performance was good, they were disciplined in their shape.
“We scored a good goal, so there were pleasing aspects.
“Nobody likes getting beaten, but by the same token we have to take the positives we can out of the game.
“The boys certainly worked hard on their shape. When we got the opportunity we tried to create things, albeit there wasn’t a lot but that was against a Championship team.
“You want to put your own spin on the way you want it to look.
“We have got a lot of experience, and a lot of young boys as well.
“Hopefully within the mixture, we can find a formation that suits everyone, and get the best out of everyone.”
Barry smith expecting a challenge from Dumbarton
Smith expects a difficult test against Dumbarton, where he served as assistant manager under Jim Duffy before leaving in 2021.
He is focused on imposing Elgin’s own threats on the Sons, adding: “We have had them watched. They have got good experience, with Mark Durnan and Sean Crighton at the back.
“They have Michael Ruth, who was at Aberdeen, up top as well and he is a threat.
“We have to focus on us. We have to know what we want to do, we have to get the ball forward a bit quicker and have more efforts at goal.”
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