Allan Hale hopes Elgin City’s strong home form can be a factor when they take on Clyde in Tuesday’s League Two crunch clash at Borough Briggs.
The Black and Whites boss is confident his players will be ready to go for what would be a massive win against a side just four points below them at the foot of the division.
Saturday’s 1-0 home loss against third-placed Dumbarton came despite an encouraging display from Elgin, who started three debutants.
Midfielders Mark Gallagher, 22, and Keith Bray, 17, who are on loan from Cove Rangers and Caley Thistle, along with left-back Lyall Booth, who was signed from Hale’s former club Huntly, were all pitched in.
A decent showing from Elgin just lacked a killer touch and the match tipped in the Sons’ favour thanks to a goal from Tony Wallace just before the break.
In a quick turnaround, Elgin and Ian McCall’s Clyde – who drew 1-1 with Spartans at the weekend – go toe-to-toe on Tuesday in what is shaping up to be a big encounter in the Moray outfit’s bid to avoid the relegation play-off spot.
‘Focus on game, not its magnitude’
Elgin’s 17 points earned at Borough Briggs have been the reason why they are not bottom, as they boast the fourth-best home record in the league – compared to collecting just one point on their travels.
Successive victories over visitors Peterhead and Stranraer during the festive period added to the strong set on results on home soil.
Hale, who became the Elgin manager when he and assistant Stefan Laird came in last month from Highland League club Huntly, said: “The results have been strong at home, which shows that our supporters have really backed the team, which is really important, especially given where we are (in the league).
“For us, it is important we are objective in our work on Tuesday and we don’t focus on the magnitude of the game. We’ll focus on the game itself.
“We have to ensure the team play the game and not the occasion. We want to extract the level of performance that we demand from the group on a weekly basis.
“Tuesday’s result won’t define our season, but it is very important we pick up positive results.
“We want to have a continuation of our good performance on Saturday, but with good, clear-cut chances in front of goal and hopefully we can turn those chances into goals, which in turn will help us win games. We have been a bit shy in front of goal in the last couple of games.”
New players will click into gear – Hale
It’s been back-to-back defeats for Elgin on the back of a poor showing in a 2-1 loss at Forfar the week before.
Hale, who hasn’t ruled out adding further to his pool before the transfer window closes on Thursday night, is sure his reshaped side will click into gear with each passing game.
He added: “We played really well on Saturday. We were good in possession, but the bit that let us down was in the final third.
“That decision-making and having that composure in our play in the final third has probably been a frustration of the team over the season.
“I am seeing a lot of progress. We have brought in a lot of players, so the relationship and the understandings are not there yet – that’s not going to happen overnight.
“The new signings only had one training session before the weekend. But the encouraging signs are, from the recruitment we’ve done, there is a good depth to the squad. Hopefully, that is us well equipped for the second half of the campaign.”
Elgin City midfielder Brian Cameron returns to face Clyde
Midfielder Brian Cameron returns from suspension to face Clyde, but fellow midfielder Rory MacEwan remains sidelined with a groin injury.
The Bully Wee posted a 2-1 win over Elgin at New Douglas Park in September as goals from Martin Rennie and Alex King put them 2-0 up inside 20 minutes.
An Erik Sula own goal in the second half offered hope to Elgin, but a missed Russell Dingwall penalty proved costly as they almost snatched a point.
This Saturday, Elgin have their third successive home match when they host mid-table East Fife, before they go to Midlothian next Tuesday to tackle Bonnyrigg Rose, who are in sixth spot.
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