Jim McInally insists he has not needed to lift the spirits of his Peterhead players despite their struggle for form.
The Blue Toon have won just once in 10 league games and remained ensconced in a scrap at the bottom of League One to stay out of the relegation play-off.
Their only league win since December came in the 4-3 victory over Dumbarton at the end of last month, with the Sons also fighting to steer clear of trouble.
Peterhead face Montrose today at Balmoor, with the Gable Endies having their own ambitions of maintaining a play-off place.
While performances have generally been good, results have not followed for the Blue Toon but McInally is not concerned about morale.
He said: “We just need to keep them playing. The more I thought about the game last weekend, the more I thought Harry Milne was the massive difference between the two teams.
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“Possession was about 50-50, they had more shots, we had more corners. We were competitive enough.
“But we got some of the boys together on the Sunday (for the charity game against Peterhead United) and they were fine.”
After facing top-four sides in Queen’s Park and Cove Rangers recently, another one comes across Peterhead’s path in the shape of Montrose.
McInally has great admiration for the work Stewart Petrie has done at Links Park, to establish them as a play-off side.
He added: “For them to be in the play-offs is outstanding. He’s done a wonderful job there.
“I’ve often said that every time we play them, he doesn’t change too much. There’s a continuity there and they have thrived on it.
“They’ve strengthened their squad of late with Michael Gardyne and Lyall Cameron but Stewart’s always got his core players, like Andrew Steeves, Cammy Ballantyne and Sean Dillon.”
Cameron spent the first half of the season on loan at Peterhead from Dundee, before returning to the Dark Blues and subsequently heading out on loan again.
Peterhead will have Niah Payne and Ryan Duncan available for the game, with the pair returning from concussion and illness respectively.
McInally also revealed that Andy McCarthy had been struggling with a sickness bug prior to the game against Cove.
He added: “I felt a wee bit sorry for Andy as he wasn’t well and wasn’t quite himself.”
