Paul Hartley reckons Cove Rangers’ title tussle with Airdrieonians is the game of the day in Scotland today.
League One’s top two meet at the Excelsior Stadium, with Cove leading the Diamonds by five points with six games remaining.
Neither side has given any ground in the push for promotion. Airdrieonians have clocked up 15 games unbeaten, while Cove’s run stretches to 20 games without defeat.
Whatever Ian Murray’s side have thrown at them so far, they have been able to withstand. But Cove still hold the upper-hand.
“It’s got the makings of a really good game,” said Hartley. “The two top teams in the division, the two most consistent teams and two teams with really good players.
“I expect a tense match. We’re going down there and trying to get a result and they’ll be doing the same.
“It’s the game of the day for me in Scotland. It’s a game both sets of players should enjoy.
“Airdrie have done really well but we’ve done really well too. We go into it with loads of confidence, on the back of what we’ve done over the last five months.
“We’ve had to grind out results and show a different side to us than we did last season. We go there with a good mindset to go and get a good result.”
Cove’s unbeaten run stretches back to a 4-2 defeat at East Fife in October. Since then, home or away, they have kept their league record intact.
It was not long after that game where they switched to three at the back, which has proved crucial in their ever-improving fortunes.
“It was pretty basic – we weren’t good enough,” said Hartley of that East Fife game. “If you’re going to try be at the top end of the table, you’ve got to improve your game all-round.
“You can’t just expect to turn up and beat anybody. You’ve got to fight to win any game.
“The mentality has been really good. Everything we’ve asked of them so far, they’ve delivered.
“Saturday is the next most important game for us. Then it’ll be the next Saturday. Whatever happens this week happens. We’ll fight to the end.
“If we win, we don’t win, we draw, it’s still all to play for. We’ll go and compete with everybody at this level.”
Cove have a full squad available for the game, with Ryan Strachan coming through training during the week after an Achilles issue and Harry Milne returning from suspension.