Fraserburgh are top of the Highland League table but utility man Willie West believes the league leaders have yet to hit their stride.
Mark Cowie’s side are nine points clear at the top after 13 wins and one draw from their opening 14 games, but West, who has been playing in defence this season, insists there is room for improvement.
He said: “I can’t complain at all at the start we’ve made in the league. It’s the best start we’ve had in all my time at the club, but I have to be honest and say we’ve not been at our best.
“We started the season really well and it’s nice to still be getting results, but I don’t think we’ve reached the heights of the first six weeks.
“Maybe I’m being a little distracted by the cup results when I say that as we feel we’ve let ourselves down in the Scottish Cup and the Aberdeenshire cup competitions, but there is no doubt we are doing well in the league.
“We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves though. It’s been a good start, but there is a long way to go and we have a lot of tough games ahead of us.”
While the cup exits have been the only blemish on an otherwise excellent start West is in no doubt his side has a lot of hard work ahead of them if they are to end the season as champions.
He said: “Most of our games against the teams chasing us have been at home and the fact we’re top of the table means we’re there to be shot at by the teams chasing us.
“We have to go to some tough grounds in the second half of the season, which is why nobody here is expecting anything other than a tough second half of the campaign.”
The Broch welcome fellow challengers Rothes to Bellslea Park on Saturday in what will be their final game against their main challengers in the first half of the campaign.
While Fraserburgh have been idle since October 16, it has been a busy run of eight games since October 1 for the visitors and West is unsure how the respective schedules will affect both teams.
He said: “Rothes have had a lot of games while we’ve had nearly three weeks off, so I’ve no idea if the break will have been a good thing or not. If we win on Saturday then I’ll say yes.
“I watched the highlights of Rothes’ North of Scotland Cup win and I’ve spoken to a few ex-players about them.
“The feedback I get is the same from everyone. They tell me how good a manager Ross Jack is, how organised and meticulous he is, and how competitive his team is.
“We know they are going to make it really difficult for us this weekend and we’re going to have to play well to get a result.”
Rothes boss believes title is Fraserburgh’s to lose
With the Broch nine points clear at the top of the table, Speysiders boss Ross Jack is in no doubt Mark Cowie’s side are in the driving seat in the title race.
Jack, who saw his side move up to third with a 1-0 win at Lossiemouth on Wednesday, said: “The Broch are on an amazing run in the league and it is theirs to lose.
“It all comes down to whether they can handle the pressure and keep their run going and it is up to other clubs such as ourselves to try to put some pressure on them.
“We made hard work of our win against Lossiemouth. We totally dominated the game against a team which had everyone behind the ball in the first half.
“They made it really difficult for us at times, but we were never under pressure. We just couldn’t get that second goal of a cushion on the night and it was a hard fought game for us.
“We have been on a really busy run of games, so we’re happy to take the points and move on.
“I’d gladly accept another hard fought 1-0 win at Bellslea on Saturday, but I know this weekend’s game is a totally different kettle of fish.”