Peterhead defender Max Gillies reckons Saturday’s showdown with Clyde is the most important game of their season.
The Blue Toon have been stuck at the bottom of League One for much of the season but face their closest rivals, with a chance to get off the bottom.
It would give the Peterhead players a much-needed boost more than anything, given they only have one win to their name so far this season.
They have a new manager at the helm in David Robertson, who presided over his first game in charge nearly a fortnight ago in the 3-0 defeat to Kelty Hearts.
While there is a gap opening up to the automatic safety of eighth spot, moving away from the foot of the division would be a big moment for Peterhead.
“When I joined Peterhead in League One, I knew it was going to be a very difficult league to play in,” said Gillies, who is on loan from Championship side Queen’s Park.
“I suppose it’s a race to see who goes down. Peterhead are in this league for a reason and we want to stay in this league. We’ve got a team that’s good enough to stay in the league.
“The main focus is to get off the bottom. With the games we’ve been playing we’ve probably deserved to be there, but with Clyde on Saturday, if we beat them we go above them. It’s the biggest game of the season so far.
“That’s what we need for a wee kick-start. A lot can happen after a win; you can kick on again and go two or three games unbeaten.
“Every training session, we give everything we’ve got. It’s not ideal not picking up points every week but hopefully Saturday is the start of things.
“We’re not in the best position but hopefully with the new manager coming in, it’s the start of something new.”
‘Hopefully this week Peterhead can start building way back up again’
Teenager Gillies has found a friend in fellow loanee Michael Hewitt, who joined from Ayr United and has had to fill the void up top in recent weeks.
“Me and Michael come up the road together,” added Gillies. “He’s a good lad and is doing really well at the moment.
“He brings a lot to the team and certainly up front, we’ve needed legs and someone willing to run in behind.
“I think he could play anywhere – you could give him a pair of gloves and he’d do a job in goal.”
No player has scored more than three goals this season for Peterhead, with winger Conor O’Keefe the man at the top of the charts.
Behind are two defenders – Gillies and Jason Brown – and having trouble scoring goals is always going to put more pressure on their defence.
“We’ve been missing goals,” added Gillies. “It’s good to be the second-top goalscorer but I don’t really want to be that.
“I’m a defender – I want the strikers to have all the goals. I’ve obviously come out to get experience but I don’t want to be getting attacked all the time. I want to be able to go forward as well.
“Under the new manager we’re looking a wee bit better going forward so hopefully this week we can start building our way back up again.”
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