Rothes captain Michael Dunn has set his sights on keeping the Formartine United strikeforce of Cammy Keith and Michael Ewen in check at Mackessack Park today.
The 23-year-old Hopeman Golf Club greenkeeper knows his side can’t afford a sub-par performance against the title challengers.
The centre half said: “Hopefully, my fellow defenders and I can stop Cammy and Mike from scoring.
“We know it will be a tough ask but we really do have nothing to lose as no one expects us to win.
“No doubt the pitch will be heavy and that could well be a leveller on the day. I would like to think that Formartine will know they’ve been in a game.”
Dunn believes the recent arrival of Rab Mulheron from Brora Rangers as manager Graeme Roy’s assistant has lifted spirits at the club.
He said: “Rab is a good guy and he will be very helpful to Graeme.
“The banter in the Rothes dressing-room is always good, no matter the results.
“We are part of a mini-league near the foot of the table.
“We have Keith in our sights as they are only six points ahead if us.
“My dad, Stevie, is manager at Lossie and we are only three points behind them, with two games in-hand. He is also my boss here at Hopeman Golf Club so if we go ahead of them in the table no doubt things could get interesting here.”
Rothes may add to their squad for the game if negotiations to get two players in on-loan are finalised in time.
Formartine United manager Steve Paterson will be giving the Speysiders every respect.
He said: “We won’t be taking Rothes lightly. You can sometimes become unstuck if your attitude is poor.
“Rothes have nothing to lose in this game. All of the pressure is on us to get a result.”
Strathspey Thistle and Nairn County meet in a Seafield Park derby.
The Grantown Jags welcome back Marc Mac- Kernie but fellow central defender Jamie Fraser has a groin strain.
County midfielder Wayne Mackintosh is out with an ankle injury and leading scorer Conor Gethins has a calf problem.
Keith and Fraserburgh meet at Kynoch Park.
The Maroons will miss midfielder Bruce Raffell, who has an ankle ligament injury, but youngster Johnny Cook returns up front.
The Broch welcome back defender Derek Paterson, midfielder Marc Dickson and centre forward Peter-Alexander Bruce.