Strathspey Thistle manager Charlie Brown hopes a strong team spirit can help them get back to winning ways against Fort William.
The Grantown Jags have lost their last six matches in all competitions prior to this Seafield Park meeting.
Brown said: “We’ve had positive training sessions, the players have been relaxed and upbeat.
“They had a day out on Saturday going 10-pin bowling and having a few beers afterwards.
“They’ve bonded well together and they’re in a positive frame of mind just now so hopefully that helps us.
“We’ve watched Fort William on a couple of occasions and we know they’ve got the potential to hurt teams.
“We’ll need to be at our best if we’re to take anything from the game.”
Fort William interim manager Calum Maclean is hoping the Lochaber side – who are bottom of the Breedon Highland League – can close the gap to Strathspey with their first win of the season.
He added: “There’s five points between the clubs already and we don’t want to let Strathspey get away from us which means we really need to win.
“Strathspey are one of the sides we feel we are able to compete with and that’s particularly important this year when relegation is a possibility.
“For us it’s about getting as many points on the board before the new manager comes in.”
Back to league business for Rothes
Meanwhile, Rothes manager Ross Jack has warned his players there can be no hangover from their North of Scotland Cup triumph.
The Speysiders won the competition at the weekend, but Jack’s focus is now back on the Highland League and their clash with Turriff United at Mackessack Park.
He said: “We can’t allow for there to be any hangover, the players have got to be bang at it from the start.
“We’ve got to focus on the league campaign again and this game is important.
“There’s a busy spell coming up and we’ve got to concentrate on taking the maximum numbers of points possible.
“Turriff had a fantastic win on Saturday and we know they’ll be buoyant after that.”
Turriff recorded their first win of the season by defeating Deveronvale 4-0 at the weekend.
Manager Dean Donaldson added: “I think the performances, apart from the Keith game, have been there, the work-rate has been there.
“The players are trying to do the things we’re asking.
“We know Rothes are a top side who are expected to be up there challenging and we’re not expected to get anything.
“We’ll try to play a bit of football, stamp our authority on the game and get our best players playing.”