Elgin City manager Gavin Price sees no reason why the Black and Whites cannot finish the League Two season with a flourish.
City have struggled for form in the opening half of the campaign, and sit in eighth place after 19 games.
The Moray outfit have shown promising signs in recent weeks however, having gone unbeaten in their last four games.
Price has drafted in Aberdeen pair Evan Towler and Kevin Hanratty on loan, while midfielder Rabin Omar has returned to the club.
With Price still keen to add to his squad, the Elgin boss is optimistic his side is back on the rise.
He said: “We finished last year well, and the year before Covid we went on a really good run after the turn of the year before we got stopped in the middle of March.
“We do seem to take a bit of time to get going, and hopefully this is the time when we pick up a bit of momentum. The signings we are making will add a bit of depth to the squad and improve us in a lot of ways.
“I have never hidden the stuttering start we had to pre-season and then the start of the season, which has followed us around the first half of the year.
“I have always felt we are capable of getting better standards. We are hopefully at the start of one of these periods, the proof will be in the pudding of course, but hopefully we can get closer to where we want to be.”
Elgin host Albion Rovers today, having jumped above the Coatbridge outfit on goal difference last weekend.
With five points separating Elgin from the promotion play-off spots, Price is eager to make gains on the teams above them.
He added: “We’ve just got to keep clocking the points tally up and see where it takes us. There is not a big difference between the sides from that fourth place down.
“We’ve just got to concentrate game-by-game, and hopefully keep the run going.
“We are going to have to have a good second half of the season if we want to get what we want.
“It’s all there in front of us, and it’s certainly not out of our reach – that’s for sure.”
Areas still to work on in weeks ahead
Price feels there are still areas to improve on, following last Friday’s 2-2 draw away to Edinburgh City.
Price added: “It’s important we keep the run going. We are certainly with more confidence, but we can still improve on certain things.
“I thought we were in control of much of the first half. Having been ahead twice, we let ourselves down defensively a couple of times. That’s what has cost us in the game.
“After two clean sheets, we had to make a few changes defensively and in goals. Maybe we were not as strong as we had been.
“It’s stuff we need to keep working on, but we are definitely looking stronger all the time. Our momentum is still there after four games unbeaten, so hopefully we can keep that run going through January.”