Brora Rangers winger Andy Macrae has called on his side to rise to the occasion when they host Highland League leaders Buckie Thistle on Wednesday.
The Cattachs return to action at Dudgeon Park, having had fixtures against Lossiemouth and Brechin City postponed in recent days.
Brora are 13 points off the pace at present, albeit they have three games in hand over Buckie.
Macrae insists his side must take points off their top of the table rivals in order to retain any hope of mounting a challenge.
He said: “It’s a big game. This season and last season, in the crucial games we are not turning up for some reason. Apart from when we won the Highland League Cup.
“We need to start turning a corner and turn up in these games. I think the league is going to be a struggle for us.
“We are not the favourites, I think it’s going to be between Brechin and Buckie.
“If we win every game between now and the end of the season we do put ourselves in the hunt, but that relies on everyone else dropping points.
“Football is a funny game at times, so if we can win on Wednesday and go on a run anything can happen.”
MacDonald settling into management role
Brora are under new management, with left back Ally MacDonald having recently been appointed as Craig Campbell’s permanent successor.
Macrae says he is still taking time to adjust to playing under his long-standing team-mate, but he is determined to do all he can to help MacDonald succeed.
He added: “It still is a bit strange. I didn’t see it coming at all – I was winding him up saying I might be the manager one day.
“He has taken to it well. It’s obviously a big change for him, we have played all right in the last couple of games so I’ve still yet to see angry Ally.
“I was speaking to him on Saturday and he’s been amazed by how busy he is, on the phone seeing if the game was on.
“Normally he would just wake up, have food and go to the game, but he’s now seeing all the stuff he never needed to do before.”
Jags aim to remain on front foot in title race
Buckie extended their lead at the summit on Saturday, with a 3-1 victory away to Banks o’ Dee.
Midfielder Andy MacAskill reckons the trip to Sutherland could have a crucial bearing on the outcome of the title race.
MacAskill said: “It’s a huge game, with seven games to go they’re all big. But there’s the three of us in there and any time you’re playing one of the others everyone knows there’s added importance.
“Brora are a really good team, we beat them at home but that game could have got away from us and we’re well aware of their qualities.
“We’re in a good place, Saturday was an important hurdle to get over and this is the same.
“It’s not ideal but by the same token last season there was a spell of about six weeks where we were playing every Wednesday.
“Things have been a bit kinder for us. You wouldn’t want to be going to Brora on a Wednesday night every week, but when it’s a one-off it’s OK and it’s part and parcel of it really.
“It’s a game we’re looking forward to, you want to play in big games and be involved in games that mean something at this stage of the season.
“Instead of looking at the negatives we’ll look to try to put in a good performance.”
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