Allan Hale insists Elgin City will not take their foot off the pedal despite taking a major stride towards League Two safety.
City have recorded back-to-back wins against Bonnyrigg Rose and Stranraer over the last fortnight, which has opened up a five-point gap on both teams, and crucially an eight-point margin above bottom side Clyde.
With seven games still to play, Elgin have put themselves in a strong position but Hale insists the job is not yet complete.
Ahead of Elgin’s home match against Forfar Athletic on Saturday, Hale said: “Nothing is assured. Mathematically we can still be relegated, so there is no relaxation of the work we are doing.
“We are at a point in the season where almost every club in the division is fighting for something.
“Effectively you have five teams that can say they are still not mathematically safe, but you’ve also got two or three that can make a late push towards the play-offs.
“We are in that point where everyone is playing for something which poses a different challenge.
“We have our own things we need to fight for.
“The first objective is to make sure we are safe, we probably need to pick up another two or three wins to make sure of that.
“We are also trying to finish as high as we can, and end the season with some positive momentum.”
City face difficult Forfar challenge
Elgin have not been defeated in their last four Borough Briggs outings, but face an in-form Forfar side who are unbeaten in their last 10 matches.
Hale hopes his side can rise to the challenge against Ray McKinnon’s side.
The Elgin boss, who hopes to have winger Mitch Taylor back from a calf injury, added: “Forfar have been really impressive.
“They have gone 10 games unbeaten, and any team that’s able to do that in League Two deserves a lot of credit.
“Forfar have a lot of qualities I like. They are very good defensively, they have good speed in the wider areas, and a striker who can provide real problems.
“They have good players and a very experienced manager.
“Our own form has been good, we have been consistent ourselves with only one defeat in six.
“The thing that has pleased me the most is that we have been able to pick up wins despite not playing at our best.
“I think we have played far better than we did at Stranraer and lost. It was a gruelling journey and an energy-sapping pitch given the torrential rain, which took a lot out of the players.
“They displayed so many qualities in their performance that you sometimes need at this level, which was to compete and have structure, and make sure you are picking up first and second balls.
“It pleases me that in games gone past we may have crumbled under that pressure, but the players have been resolute in the last couple of games and we have managed to come away with six valuable points.”
Elgin boss welcomes Murray’s appointment as chairman
Hale met newly-appointed chairman Alan Murray for the first time on Thursday, with the City boss hoping to tap into his vision for the Moray club.
He added: “I think it’s a very welcome appointment – one that has been well received within the community and rightly so.
“He has good experience from his previous roles. He’s a football man, but a businessman at the same time.
“Those two things together will certainly help to provide the clarity and direction within boardroom level. I’m looking forward to working with Alan.”
Conversation