Jim McInally wants Peterhead to deliver a much-improved performance from their last visit to Cove Rangers in November.
McInally reckons the 3-0 defeat was up there with their poorest displays of the season, with goals from Ryan Strachan and a Mitch Megginson brace earning the home side a deserved three points.
Cove have won all three league meetings between the two sides this campaign, coming out on top 1-0 in both games at Balmoor.
The need for points is amplified for the two clubs as the season enters its final quarter. Cove need points to secure promotion, while Peterhead need victories to keep clear of the bottom of the table.
“It’s up there with our poorest performances and we got off lightly,” said McInally. “We never laid a glove on them and it’s probably the only unacceptable performance of the season.
“The game has got different pressures now. We’re at the wrong end of the table and they are trying to win the league.
“At this stage it becomes tougher. There’s a wee bit of psychology comes into it, now we’re at the business end of the season. We need to really improve.
“The final ball has let us down, rather than missing chances. I just want them to be competitive, because last time we weren’t good enough.
“We need to get in the faces of the Cove players. We need to pressure them.”
Aberdeen loanee Ryan Duncan is a doubt for the game, as is Niah Payne, who suffered a head injury in the midweek defeat to Queen’s Park. Simon Ferry, Jason Brown and David Wilson remain out with injury.
McInally had been critical during the week of the pitch at Firhill, which has to accommodate Queen’s Park and Partick Thistle and does not appear to be holding up well.
“It’s not fit for purpose and it was actually a decent night on Tuesday,” added McInally.
“If there’s any rain in Glasgow, then the opposite corner from where you come out becomes a bog.
“If there’s any sort of rain then that’ll be the game off. Both teams (Thistle and Queen’s Park) are probably going to be in the play-offs, too.
“Nobody is suffering more than the two clubs at the moment and I know the Queen’s Park coach said to Simon (Ferry) they’ve had to change the way they play (because of the pitch).”