Ross Draper is demanding a big improvement from his Elgin City players as they chase their first victory of the League Two season on Saturday.
Back-to-back goalless draws against Forfar Athletic were a decent foundation for the Black and Whites ahead of last week’s trip to newly-promoted Spartans.
However, a below-par display resulted in a 2-1 defeat – with the home side instead claiming their first SPFL victory.
Away from league business, Elgin knocked Forfar out of the SPFL Trust Trophy on penalties following one of those recent draws with the Loons and also sent St Johnstone Colts out of the competition to line up a tie at Championship Morton on September 9.
However, player/manager Draper insists it is points in League Two which top his agenda, and, on Saturday, they face an East Fife team at Borough Briggs with the same return of one point from their first three fixtures.
Elgin City players ‘must react’ to defeat to secure first league win
Draper said: “We’ve kept clean sheets lately and we’ve spoken about being patient, but we conceded two cheap goals on Saturday.
“While we can take confidence from our results in the SPFL Trust Trophy, the league results matter the most.
“We need wins on the board and a win on Saturday changes everything in terms of mentality and momentum. That’s the aim – and it will be the same for East Fife.
“Both teams are looking for their first league win. It bodes well for a good game, but we have to be much better than last week.
“It is up to us to react. The boys have trained well this week as they try to get themselves into the team. There may well be changes because of the poor performance against Spartans.
“We’ve looked good and sharp at training and we have to stick together. There is a good atmosphere within the group.”
‘We have to be better – simple as that’
Draper was disappointed in the way the team handled Spartans on a blustery day last Saturday. He accepts they were below the standard required.
He said: “We didn’t deal well enough with the conditions. It was very windy in the first half, but there was still an opportunity to get on the ball and play.
“In the second half, we needed to keep the ball on the floor because it was windy, but we didn’t do that well enough. It was a poor performance. We have to be better – simple as that.
“I spoke to the boys after the game and they know it was not the way I want us to play.
“Sometimes, you can hold your hands up if you lose a game while trying to play the right way, where you can work on things, but we didn’t play anywhere near the style or manner in which I want us to play. That was the disappointing aspect for me.”
Three mistakes led to Fifers’ cup win over Elgin last month
Last month, Elgin fell to a 3-1 loss at East Fife in the Viaplay Cup group stages, with former Caley Thistle star Nathan Austin bagging a hat-trick.
With signings such as Ross County loanees Matty Wright and Connall Ewan and ex-Forres Mechanics forward Ben Barron now on board at City, Draper is hopeful of a closer contest.
He added: “I didn’t feel there was too much in the game down there.
“We made three mistakes and were tinkering about with formations. We had a younger side for that game, but we now have a few more boys in.
“We’re in a much stronger place and I would like to think this will be a much tighter game.
“With us being at home, we have the opportunity to be on the front foot and get back to playing the way we want to play.”
Captain and defender Matthew Cooper made his return from injury as a second half substitute last week.
Draper will hope Rory MacEwan (hip), Kenny MacInnes (hamstring), Nathan Cooney (groin) recover from their injuries in time to face the Fifers.
Conversation