Elgin City manager Allan Hale is keen to play down the significance of Saturday’s League Two trip to Clyde.
City have an eight-point gap above their bottom-placed opponents, and know a win at New Douglas Park would be a huge stride towards securing league safety.
The Black and Whites will face a Bully Wee side buoyed by a stunning 6-1 victory over leaders Stenhousemuir last weekend, with Ian McCall’s men looking to generate momentum in their efforts to make the great escape.
With 10 fixtures remaining, Hale insists the fate of both sides will rest on far more than this weekend’s encounter.
He said: “At the end of the day we are only playing for three points.
“Either end of the bargain I don’t think anything is going to be decided based on the result.
“It’s other people’s jobs to get focused on the magnitude of the game, and it’s our job to focus the players on making sure we can get the level of performance that highlights the capability of our squad.
“That’s where our focus has been this week, the same as it has been for any other game. In that sense I don’t think anything has really changed too much.
“I think it’s shaping up to be a good match. It’s two teams that have got a bit of positive momentum behind them.
“Clyde have recruited well. They invested heavily in their squad during the window and brought in players that have got a lot of experience at this level, to try and get themselves to safety.
“We have been pretty active ourselves in terms of having the depth of squad we felt we needed for the second half of the season, and our form has been really consistent.”
Elgin go into match with strong form behind them
Eighth-placed Elgin are among a congested pack of teams in mid-table, with just a point separating them from East Fife in fifth.
In their last three fixtures against the current top three, City followed up a 2-1 away win against Spartans with draws against Stenhousemuir and Peterhead.
Hale is determined to maintain the high level of performance his side has shown in recent weeks.
He added: “I think there’s a real consistency within our performances, which has been really pleasing.
“The last three games have been really encouraging because we have been playing a lot of good football, created a lot of chances and been well in the game.
“Arguably, you could say that if we had taken our chances on another day we could be sitting with more than the five points that we accumulated.
“That gives me encouragement because the players are playing with a level of consistency which is putting us in a position where we are competing to win games of football.
As we begin the final quarter of the season after tomorrow’s trip to Hamilton to face Clyde, here is the fixtures for March; which include 2 games at home v Bonnyrigg and Forfar pic.twitter.com/eRbDT4Fn3w
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) March 1, 2024
“That’s where you need to be at this stage of the season.
“We have closed a gap on the teams above us, and for us it’s about trying to make sure we stay within that bracket and maintain the same level of consistency we have shown over the last six or seven games.”
City will be without skipper Matthew Cooper and Rory MacEwan, while Mitch Taylor will also miss out with a torn calf.
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