Rothes midfielder Daniel Moore believes this weekend’s opponents Buckie Thistle are much better than their placing in the Highland League table suggests.
The Highland champions have endured a sluggish first half of the season, with Graeme Stewart’s men in eighth place after 19 games.
Rothes, who are in ninth spot, could move to within one point of the Jags with a victory at Mackessack Park this weekend.
The 29-year-old said: “Buckie have got it in them to put a run of results together.
“I just hope it doesn’t start against us this weekend. We really need a win and it is important we get back to winning ways.
“We have a pretty good home record and we could have beaten Cove Rangers in October but had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
“We will look to build on our home form in the second half of the season.
“We think we have more in the tank and feel we are further down the table than we should be. We have aspirations to finish higher up the league table.”
Moore was instrumental in ensuring the Speysiders overturned a 2-0 deficit at Deveronvale last Saturday with two brilliant strikes.
The first goal, a 25-yard free kick just before half-time, is a contender for goal of the season.
The former Elgin City captain, who is now player-assistant manager with the Speysiders, said: “I scored a couple of similar goals in pre-season as has Dale Gillespie, who also takes our free kicks.
“Last Saturday’s was probably the best free kick I’ve ever scored.
“I was way out wide but I thought that rather than trying to cross the ball I would have a dig, despite the tight angle. Thankfully, it flew into the roof of the net.
“We were 2-0 down at the time, so we really needed a goal before half-time.
“It was a big goal for us as it came just before the break and had we not scored it I don’t think we would have come back to earn a draw.”