Cove Rangers captain Eric Watson insists it is too early to be talking about winning the Highland League.
The centre half and his team-mates dug deep to come from 2-0 behind to beat Clach 3-2 on Wednesday to go top of the table for the first time this season.
But Watson has called for a more convincing performance at Harlaw Park this afternoon in the first of back-to-back fixtures against Turriff United.
Watson said: “We got out of jail against Clach on Wednesday and it was a wake-up call for ourselves in the first half. We showed just why we are champions with our fightback, although we should have kicked on. But we took our foot off the gas after going 3-2 up.
“Hopefully, we can defend better against Turriff. There’s certainly no love lost between them and ourselves and over the years there’s been some really good games, most of which have been settled by the odd goal.
“We still have five games to go but we are just taking it one game at a time.
“I am still wary of Buckie Thistle and Brora Rangers, who are waiting for any slip-ups, so we need to take care of our own business first before any talk of retaining our title.”
Turriff central defender Cammy Bowden is a major doubt for the game. Manager Ross Jack said: “Cammy is extremely doubtful with a knee injury while full back Chris Herd is out with a calf injury. David Ross is unavailable as he is working abroad, while fellow forward David Booth will have a late test.
“Cove were under severe pressure against Clach on Wednesday when they were 2-0 down but they responded like the cham-pions. We are expecting another huge encounter and we need a positive reaction to Wednesday’s 3-2 defeat at Formartine United.”
