Banks o’ Dee’s Ethan Cairns is relishing being involved in the Breedon Highland League title race and reckons the pressure is similar to what he hopes to experience with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
The striker, who is on loan to Dee from Caley Thistle, is set to be involved tonight when the Aberdeen outfit tackle Brechin City at Glebe Park in a top-of-the-table clash.
Dee are three points behind the Hedgemen, having played a game more.
Cairns is keen to bolster their hopes of glory by getting a positive result this evening – while also trying to impress his parent club.
The 19-year-old, who has already scored for Inverness’ first team, said: “It adds a whole lot more pressure when it feels like you need to win every game when you’re going for titles.
“It’s good to be part of it.
“The pressure is similar at Caley Thistle. Training with the first team, I see how much pressure there is to be successful, because Inverness is a big club.
“Coming to Banks o’ Dee, it feels the same really.
“This is a huge game. We know how sharp Brechin are, they’re a clinical, strong team.
“We’ve got what it takes to counter that, but we know it’ll be very difficult.
“Every game feels like it’s must-win, regardless of who you are playing.
“On Saturday, the draw between ourselves and Brora (2-2) didn’t really help either of us.
“But there could be a lot of twists and turns to come.
“With the fixture backlog, players will be tired and I think it’ll come down to squad depth and rotation.
“We’re fortunate we’ve got a good squad for that sort of thing.”
Brechin hitman still has role to play
Meanwhile, Brechin boss Gavin Price insists Grady McGrath has a vital role to play in the run-in.
The striker has netted 29 goals this season, however, he hasn’t started the Hedgemen’s last six games.
Price said: “The strikers that have been playing have been playing well and are in good form.
“Ewan Loudon has been scoring goals and his all-round game has been a real positive for us.
“Every player in the squad is important, it’s a squad game – and Grady will still play a major role between now and the end of the season.
“Grady has got qualities I really admire, and he’s got a massive role to play between now and the end of the season.
“Like everyone else in the squad, he’s got to be ready to contribute, and I’m sure he’ll make a positive impact.”
Price is keen for Brechin to strengthen their position at the top of the Highland League table with a victory this evening.
But regardless of the outcome, he is of the opinion there’s a long way to go in the title race.
Price added: “You only get three points for winning it – it’s not going to determine who wins the league or who doesn’t win the league.
“We want to put ourselves in a better position, and if we win the game, we’ll do that.
“We can only determine what we do. You can’t rely on other teams slipping up.
“We’ve got to concentrate on every game, and if we can pick up maximum points from a game like this, it strengthens our position.”
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