Brora Rangers midfielder Dale Gillespie feels the Cattachs’ players must take responsibility for the departure of manager Steven Mackay as they aim to get back on track against Formartine United.
Mackay handed in his resignation following Brora’s 6-2 defeat to Fraserburgh last weekend, with Craig Campbell taking interim charge for Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Aberdeen B in the SPFL Trust Trophy.
With the Cattachs looking to recover from their back-to-back losses when they host the Pitmedden outfit, Gillespie says his side’s performance levels must drastically improve.
Gillespie said: “It’s actually very similar to when I first joined in 2012.
“We had a season to get going when we needed to recruit players. I think we are in the same position now.
“We’ve got good players in the squad but for whatever reason there are boys who are absolutely miles off it at the moment. That’s all of us, young and old.
“Steven left on Saturday, and after the performance on Tuesday night I can kind of see why. He’s probably embarrassed to manage that.
“I was gutted with the way it ended for him. I know maybe the work circumstances didn’t help him, but I don’t think he deserved the performances we’ve been putting on the pitch.”
Campbell could hand a debut to striker Matthew Wright who has joined on loan from Ross County, and the stand-in Brora boss said: “I know all the boys very well, and I know what they are capable of. They are good football players.
“We just need to get back to the basic things again, start working hard and be difficult to beat.
“We conceded cheap goals on Saturday and I thought we defended a bit better on Tuesday, but I still don’t think we are creating enough so we will be looking to improve on that.”
Formartine will be boosted by the return of on-loan pair Tyler Mykyta and Kevin Hanratty, who both played for parent club Aberdeen in the B team’s triumph over the Cattachs on Tuesday.
Today’s game will mark a swift return to Dudgeon Park for the pair, with manager Paul Lawson thrilled with their impact so far.
Lawson, who will be without Stuart Anderson, Daniel Park and Ryan Spink, said: “The experience they are going to get this season is going to be invaluable to them.
“Going to places like Brora, Fraserburgh and Buckie is different for them, so it’s good they’ve had that experience and had a result.
“They have come in and done really well. Kevin has got a couple of goals which is great, while Tyler’s displays have been different class. The two of them offer something different that we’ve not got, certainly at the moment due to injuries.
“They will be going into the game confident and looking forward to it like we all are.”
Lawson remains mindful of Brora’s threat despite the Sutherland side’s difficult week, adding: “Brora are looking to bounce back so there are two ways to look at it. We are certainly very wary of the threats they pose, and the players they have.
“As a player you’d certainly be looking to bounce back after the couple of results they have had.
“I’m sure Craig will have them fired up. It’s going to be a difficult game, we don’t doubt that.
“Our record up there recently has been pretty good but that counts for nothing. We need to put a performance in and do our best to get the three points.
“I thought we played really well against Forfar and we were unfortunate not to take anything out of it. We can take positives from the previous three results.”