Steven Mackay insists the next four fixtures will be crucial as Elgin City aim to supercharge their push for the League 2 promotion play-offs.
The Black and Whites assistant manager explained the eighth-placed squad are eager to bounce back from losses against Stenhousemuir and Kelty Hearts when they host Stranraer on Saturday.
It’s a critical period for City, with Annan Athletic, who are third, visiting Borough Briggs on Tuesday, before a trip to improving basement side Cowdenbeath next weekend.
February finishes with fellow promotion contenders Stirling Albion coming to Moray, so three home games from four represents a real opportunity for Elgin.
We have 2 important home games coming up and we need your support as we push for that 4th place spot 🖤
First up its Stranraer this Saturday. Then on to Annan midweek 🤩
Tickets can be purchased using our digital ticketing partner Fanbase
We look forward to seeing you ⚽️ 🏟 pic.twitter.com/EVOZnzXjUp
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) February 7, 2022
Ahead of Friday night’s Edinburgh City v Stirling encounter, the Moray team are eight points behind Edinburgh, who occupy the final play-off berth.
Mackay said: “We look at these next four games and it’s an opportunity for us to make a real impact in terms of where we want to be.
“We still believe fourth place is still up for grabs and if we can put a run together in these next four games, it will put us in a good position.
“Outwith Kelty, who on their day are an exceptional team as we were reminded of last week, any side really can beat any one.
“Kelty have lost only twice this season and I’m in no doubt they will go on and win the league. After that, teams can take teams off one another.
“No result would surprise you. If we can win on Saturday, we can at least leapfrog Stranraer. That would be a positive start for us.”
New ideas implemented by players
This week, boss Gavin Price was awarded the League 2 manager of the month prize for January.
Wins over top two sides, Kelty and Forfar Athletic, were the highlights and earned Elgin vital points keeping alive their promotion hopes.
Mackay praised Price and underlined the importance now for the team to rediscover that winning form.
He said: “It was a good run we had. One of the directors pointed out, if we’d won at Stenhousemuir, it would have been the best run the club had been on since joining the Scottish League, which is quite incredible.
Congratulations to Gavin Price who has been named @GlensVodkaLLG manager of the month for January 🏆
Well done to the Gaffer and back room staff 🖤
Full Story on https://t.co/n6KocpMf63 pic.twitter.com/HKVOhXYWgx
— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) February 9, 2022
“The award is testament to the work Gavin has put in over the last few years and, most recently, we’ve been working on a few things and it was good to see the team buy into that.
“The run came to and end, of course, with back-to-back defeats, but we aim to go on a similar run in what will be a really important month for us.”
Wide Stranraer men present danger
Elgin drew 1-1 at home to Stranraer on the opening day of the season and lost 1-0 away to the Blues in November and Mackay reckons they’ll have to be on their toes in order to net the win.
He added: “Stranraer will be physical and hard to break down. We didn’t perform well down there earlier in the season and lost 1-0. We didn’t do ourselves just that day, so we will be looking to make amends.
“They have some exceptionally good wide players who can hurt you, but if we perform like we have done recently at home then I am hopeful we can get three points.”
Trialists remain in the frame for City
A clutch of Elgin players, who were due to face Scottish FA hearings on Friday and next week in relation to alleged breaches in betting rules had those postponed due to an ongoing court case.
It means the danger of those players being banned is removed for now and they are free to play for the club.
Price and the coaches have been running the rule over trialists and Mackay insists the door could remain open to anyone who catches their attention.
He added: “We’ve looked at trialists lately as a contingency plan, or a back-up, but also you never know, you might identify someone who could add real strength to your squad outwith the potential issues hanging over the club.
“We’re focusing on the players we have available and hopefully that doesn’t change between now and the end of the season. The situation is far from ideal and it doesn’t make planning particularly helpful.”
Mackay confirmed injured duo Brian Cameron and Matthew Cooper came through Thursday’s training sessions unscathed, although Saturday’s game might come too soon for them.