Elgin City manager Allan Hale wants his players to secure League Two safety by their own efforts with a win against promotion-chasing Peterhead.
With three fixtures left. sixth-placed Elgin are seven points in front of basement side Clyde – and three more points will ensure the Black and Whites cannot be dragged into the dreaded pyramid play-off.
The Moray men put another point on board last weekend when they held runaway champions Stenhousemuir 1-1 at Ochilview. It was City’s third draw in four matches.
After tackling the Blue Toon, Elgin will go to fellow promotion-chasers Dumbarton next weekend before rounding off their campaign at home to Clyde on Saturday, May 4.
This Saturday, Clyde play league winners Stenny at Hamilton and anything less than a Bully Wee win would also keep Elgin in the fourth-tier going into 2024-2025 regardless of what happens at Borough Briggs.
The table-topping Warriors are looking to end a run of six successive draws, while Ian McCall’s side are seeking over leapfrog Stranarer, who host third-placed Dumbarton.
Former Huntly management duo Hale and Stefan Laird took over the City hot-seat in December and they’ve helped haul the team clear of the danger-zone without assistance from other sides.
⚫️ NEXT MATCH ⚪️
Only 2 home games left this season! Spread the word, get your weekend plans sorted for yourself, family and friends! Head down to BB on Saturday, and cheer on the team to a positive result, which would be enough to secure our League 2 position for next season pic.twitter.com/KHlaqLIZ7k
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) April 17, 2024
‘These players have been up for fight’
In their last 13 games, Elgin have won five, drawn five and lost three. That upward form offers them a great chance to put the seal on their place in League Two next term.
Hale said: “We are in control of our own destiny. That’s a position we were probably not in when we took over.
“All credit to the players for the form they have produced post-Christmas. Our form since then has been up there with the best in the league.
“It shows we have quality. It shows we have spirit and it also shows that these players have been up for the fight.
“We want to secure safety on our own, by picking up positive results without having to rely on what happens elsewhere.
“We have put ourselves in a good position and we want to do that as early as possible, the same as Peterhead will want to do in terms of the promotion play-offs.
“It would be good to put that to bed this weekend. Then we would be able to plan and look forward with a view to progressing again next season.”
Hale’s praise for Peterhead co-bosses
Under previous boss Barry Smith, Elgin suffered a punishing 6-0 defeat at Peterhead last September.
However, under Hale and Laird, the team have beaten their north-east opponents 2-1 at home in December and drawn 1-1 back at the Balmoor Stadium in February.
He said: “It will be a really difficult game. It always is against Peterhead.
“(Co-managers) Jordon (Brown) and Ryan (Strachan) have done a wonderful job in terms of the rebuild they had when they took over.
“They have built a team that has got a blend of everything. They have got real experience through the spine of the team, which is always important to be a successful team. And they have got real quality in terms of youth.
“The biggest compliment is they’ve a team of players who are so calm and composed in possession. They also have players throughout the pitch who are really dangerous.
“We can’t give them time or space to allow them to dictate or control the game. They have quality players who can hurt you, so we need to be at it and be fully prepared for a difficult game.”
Hale admits his squad are “decimated” ahead of the Peterhead clash due to a mixture of injuries and suspensions and they could be running with a squad of just 13 or 14 players.
He added: “It’s not ideal, but we will pick a team and a system which we hope can cause Peterhead problems.”
