Paul Hartley admits he had no illusions about the task ahead of him when he took on the Cove Rangers job for the second time.
Cove have taken three heavy defeats in the last four games and have shipped 19 goals since the start of the year.
They were beaten 5-0 by Ayr United on Friday night and face the same opponents in the Scottish Cup tonight.
Consistency and Cove normally went in hand-in-hand, but this season has proved a far more difficult challenge.
“I knew that coming in,” said Hartley. “I didn’t think it was going to be easy with the results being so inconsistent from the start of the season.
“Last season is gone. It’s a totally different league with stronger teams – you get punished if you’re not on your game.
“We’ve not had a settled team since I’ve been back, with players being ill or injured.
“We’ve got to find that consistency and have a team that can be strong defensively, because we’re conceding too many goals. It’s not been easy to find that team.
“It’s hard to put your finger on why. We’ve been making individual mistakes and in this league you get punished for that.”
Both Cove and Ayr will see tonight’s rematch as a massive opportunity, with a home tie against League Two side Elgin City awaiting in the last 16.
“It’s a massive night for the club,” said Hartley. “We know who we’re going to be facing in the next round – but Ayr will be saying the same thing.”
Cove will be without cup-tied duo Tony Weston and Jason Naismith, while Blair Yule and Fraser Fyvie (both ankle) are also out.
“Blair has suffered recurrence of the injury he had before,” said Hartley. “Fraser went to see a specialist yesterday and we don’t know how long it’s going to be.
“We’ve got to get on with what we’ve got.”
No more outgoings expected at Cove
Cove announced the departure of long-serving goalkeeper Stuart McKenzie and striker Gerry McDonagh over the weekend, and McKenzie subsequently signed for neighbours Peterhead on a long-term deal.
No more departures are expected prior to the transfer deadline tonight. Clubs will still have another month, however, to make loan signings.
“Stuart was offered a new contract before I came in, which he turned down and didn’t get back to the club,” said Hartley.
“When I came in, I brought in Scott Fox, and Stuart said he wanted to have a change and play first-team football.
“He’s been a great servant for the club. He was good for the club and the club were good for him. But sometimes players need a change.
“With Gerry, we felt we had to look at different options and have a different type of player in.
“We need to strengthen the front area and it’s been non-stop the last few weeks trying to do that.”
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