Peterhead boss David Robertson says his players need no reminders of how important today’s game with Clyde is.
The two perennial strugglers in League One face off this afternoon, as both bid to avoid going down automatically.
They only have 11 points each and are 17 adrift of safety. Peterhead won the previous meeting between the two sides last month 1-0.
“The last time we played, if we lost we would have been five points adrift,” said Robertson. “The games are getting less and less.
“The players are confident and going into games believing they can win.
“We don’t have to spell it out to the players. We’ve got players that want to kick on and their attitude is great.
“It’ll come down to who makes the least mistakes and who wants it more than the other team. It would be our first away win of the season and our first away points as a staff.
“But it wouldn’t give us breathing space. The last time we won, they were the only team to pick up points afterwards.”
Shetlander John Allan could be in line to make his Peterhead debut, after signing an 18-month deal at Balmoor.
Allan has relocated to the north-east from the islands and the Blue Toon boss has been impressed with what the 25-year-old has to offer.
“He’s settled in well and is a typical goalscorer,” added Robertson. “They are hard to find. It all seemed to fall into place pretty well and we’re glad we’ve got him.
“There’s not many goalscorers going about and we’ve got someone from a different area. We’ve got high hopes for him.”
Robertson has been impressed with the progress Hamish Ritchie is making on his return from a cruciate ligament injury.
Ritchie has been out since July after undergoing surgery for the injury picked up against Aberdeen. He signed a new contract in November, keeping him at the club until 2024.
“I’ve heard a lot about him and had good reports,” said Robertson. “From what I know he’s a pretty strong boy and if we had him in the midfield, he would be perfect as that’s the type of player we are missing.
“For next season, we’ve got a number of players under contract and some pre-contracts done. Hopefully we survive and instead of having to build a team during the League Cup, we have one in place.
“We’re trying to get this team firing as well as we can and finish the season with a bit of confidence.
“Some players will move on and after this game, we’ll start talking to players about getting them tied up.”
Conor O’Keefe is due to have surgery next week and faces another month on the sidelines.
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