Peterhead manager Jim McInally has urged his players to make their opportunity count in what he believes is a key week in the League 2 title race.
The Blue Toon will go top of the table if they beat Cowdenbeath at Balmoor Stadium tonight and with their title rivals Edinburgh City and Clyde set to face each other on Saturday when his side host Elgin City, McInally knows the importance of making back-to-back home games count.
He said: “We know if we win we will go top of the league so all our focus is on Cowdenbeath but there’s no doubt it is a big week for us.
“We’ve got another tough game on Saturday against Elgin while Clyde play Edinburgh City so it’s important we do our bit. If we can win our two games we’ll be in a strong position no matter what happens elsewhere.”
Tonight’s game against the Blue Brazil is the second meeting of the two clubs this season and McInally and his players will not have long to wait for a third meeting with Gary Bollan’s side with the two clubs scheduled to face each other again at Central Park next week.
The Peterhead boss believes the situation is far from ideal but expects his counterpart Bollan to ring the changes for both games against his side.
He said: “It’s never healthy playing the same team twice in a few days but we’ll deal with it. By next Tuesday it will be Cowdenbeath’s third midweek game in a row and at our level that can take its toll, but we just have to look after ourselves.
“We’ve only played them once so far and the last time I saw Cowdenbeath was when they played Rangers in the Scottish Cup and they did very well in that game.
“What Gary does a lot is change his team up and with his club playing a lot of games just now I expect he will ring the changes again. I would imagine the shape and players will change a lot in the two games we play against them tomorrow and next week.
“David Cox was sent-off on Saturday for them so he will not be coming up here to play against us but Gary’s son Luc is available after suspension so I expect him to feature.
“What I know about Cowdenbeath is that they are an experienced team and they can cause you problems. Gary Fraser is a very good player while Kris Renton up front is a real handful for any team.
“Thankfully we go into the game with a full squad to pick from. It is important we try to keep it that way for the run-in.”
