Elgin City boss Gavin Price insists playing with less pressure can help his side knock out League One Clyde to book their place in the quarter-finals of the SPFL Trust Trophy.
Fresh from a 2-1 League Two win over Stenhousemuir on Saturday to remain third in their division, City turn their attention to facing off-colour Bully Wee.
Clyde recently recruited Jim Duffy as their new manager for the second time, replacing Danny Lennon.
They have banked just nine points all season and are two points above Peterhead at the wrong end of League Two, having not won since beating Welsh opponents Caernarfon Town 1-0 on September 24.
Elgin have a fourth round of the Scottish Cup against Drumchapel United on January 21 to look forward to and nine victories from 12 overall is fine form ahead of tackling Clyde at Borough Briggs.
‘Good opportunity’ to progress
Price isn’t taking the visitors for granted, but knows his confident squad are ready for the challenge of beating a team from the league above.
He said: “I’ve watched Clyde a couple of times, including against Dumbarton (in a 3-1 defeat in the Scottish Cup).
“They have got some dangerous players and we know what we’re up against. Although we won’t start as favourites, it’s something we’re looking to overturn.
“We see this as a good opportunity to progress and it’s a good chance to get through.
“We’ll concentrate on ourselves and if we play well we will have a great chance of progressing.
“We have won nine of our last 12 games, which is a good record, although there have been some inconsistencies within that.
“We just have to keep the momentum we have built up going. The league is the priority, but cups offer you good distractions.
“This is a real opportunity to reach the quarter-finals of a cup, which is not a regular occurrence for Elgin.
“We want to enjoy these moments in cup, while ensuring the focus remains on the league.
“This lets us enjoy a game with a little less pressure. Hopefully we can progress and look forward to it from January.”
Elgin finding ways to win each time
Main marksman Kane Hester scored his 22nd goal in all competitions and Russell Dingwall his 12th as they overcame Stenny last week.
For Price, the fact his men have faced tests in recent weeks and won each time has been impressive.
He said: “It was a really important win against a really good side. It was important for us to establish our place within those top four positions.
“It helps us, but it is still very early days. We’ve had three straight wins since losing 4-0 to Dumbarton. We said at the time it was so important for us to bounce back and we didn’t let it linger.
“We’ve gone down to Annan and put in a really committed display to earn three points.
A stellar finish from Dingwall 👏
Elgin with a huge 3⃣ points#cinchL2 | @ElginCityFC pic.twitter.com/py3mSv85g4
— SPFL (@spfl) December 5, 2022
“We’ve won the subsequent two games after that. They have all been won under a bit of pressure. I’m really pleased by how we’ve seen out three these games in different circumstances.
“In our Scottish Cup tie at (Hill of Beath Hawthorn), we were down to 10 men; against Annan we were put under a lot of pressure in the second half and withstood that.
“Because of those two games, we came through for the win against Stenhousemuir fairly comfortably. We didn’t play at our fluid best by any stretch of the imagination, but it was still a good, professional performance.
“Defensively, we’ve been a lot stronger. We’ve changed the way we’ve been playing since the Dumbarton game.
“Although we’d been scoring goals, we had been conceding far too many to challenge and had to get the balance right. Although it takes slightly away from our attacking play, we’ve still got players who will get us goals.”
Sharp City shooters keep on scoring
Price is thrilled his main scorers keep hitting the net, with both players taking advice on board in their bids to improve.
He added: “Kane and Russell are still scoring and long may it continue.
“Russell hits the 18-yard box at the right time and, as we’ve been saying, it’s about him keep making these runs for when the cross comes in. He will score goals and get chances.
“Kane’s goal was the type he doesn’t score enough of. We’ve been working on that with him and his movement. He doesn’t score a lot of tap-ins, but he can score more of these type of goals throughout the season.”
Defender Matthew Cooper and midfielder Rory MacEwan have trained this week, so come into contention for the weekend, while versatile Darryl McHardy and defensive midfielder Angus Mailer are doubts.
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