Peterhead co-manager Ryan Strachan wants his side to play ugly if need be in a bid to get back to winning ways.
The Blue Toon have lost their last two games in League Two against The Spartans and Stranraer, and travel to Annan Athletic in the SPFL Trust Trophy on Saturday.
Strachan believes last week’s display against Stranraer was not up to par and wants his side to show a reaction in the third round of the cup.
He said: “We’re not looking to lose three games in a row, so what we’ve said to the group is even if we’re having an off day – like we did last Saturday – then we have to grind a result out.
“We’ve got to be a sticky team and play ugly if need be to find a way to get the result. That’s been the message to the group this week.
“We haven’t faced back-to-back defeats in the league this season, and that’s been a credit to the group because we have started well and went into games thinking we were going to win.
“This week we have to instill that back into the team: that we have to turn up in every game we play this year. We still have to do the hard work and put the effort in.”
Strachan doesn’t want Peterhead to play it safe
Strachan also wants to see Peterhead take more “risks” in possession against the League One outfit at Galabank.
The Blue Toon will be boosted by the return of striker Kieran Shanks, who has been suspended for their last two games.
Strachan added: “We will look to alter the shape a bit because we have some personnel coming back into the group, and will maybe look to go with two strikers.
“I think the last couple of games we’ve been too safe in our possession. We want to be a possession-based football team, but we haven’t seen that as much over the last two weeks.
“We’re not looking to play it safe, we want to take risks.
“We know we’re up against a team in the league above us and it’ll be a tough test, so we will need to close up shop and get more players advancing forward to support the strikers because we haven’t had that in abundance recently.”
League Two, Strachan says, is Peterhead’s priority this season, but believes a decent run in the cup could help build momentum for the campaign.
He said: “In any cup we want to do well and compete, and Saturday will be no different.
“We don’t want to lose three games in a row, so we will pick a team that can go out there and compete.”
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