Fraserburgh stalwart Willie West moved to second in the club’s all-time appearance list in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory at champions Buckie Thistle.
The 36-year-old made his 681st appearance for the Broch in the midweek success at Victoria Park.
The only player to have taken to the field on more occasions than West is goalkeeper Billy Gordon who played 721 times for the Bellslea outfit.
West, whose side take on Brechin City at home this Saturday, said he is having to work harder than ever off the pitch to ensure he can keep playing a leading role for Mark Cowie’s side.
The Fraserburgh captain said: “I’m probably a couple of seasons off Billy Gordon yet. There’s a bit to go – I’ll take it one game at a time.
“I’m feeling really fit. I have probably never worked so hard. I think as you get older, you realise you need to do that bit extra.
“Thankfully my wife is kind enough to let me do a bit of extra training in the morning. I generally get into a routine, where I work out before I go to work.
“I’ve probably never spent so much time and effort in being ready for a Saturday, but I really enjoy it.
“I’ll just keep doing it as long as I can – and as long as Mark lets me.
“If I can keep contributing to the team, I’ll keep going and see how far I can take it.”
West was pleased the Broch managed to respond to a slow start to the season with an impressive win against last season’s champions.
Fraserburgh began the campaign with a 2-0 loss at Wick and a 1-1 draw with Deveronvale before coming from behind to defeat Buckie on Wednesday.
West knows another tough test awaits against a Brechin side who have started the campaign with three wins out of three.
He said: “It was probably a good game for us to get a reaction. We’ve had a really poor start, for our standards.
“Whether you are in good form or poor form, when you come up against the champions you don’t need any motivation.
“The guys were up for it. We knew we needed to be at our best to get a result, and we were delighted with the three points.
“Brechin will be another test. Hopefully we will get a repeat performance to Wednesday.”
West sees no reason why the Broch can’t enjoy success this season, adding: “There’s a lot of experience in the team, and we have some depth. There are some players who probably haven’t played as much as they would like.
“We have a lot of players who have won things, and we have a lot of belief.
“We are going to need the full squad before the end of the season.”
Cregg expects stern test
Brechin City boss Patrick Cregg has warned his players they will have to be at their best if they are to make it four wins out of four when they take on the Broch.
The Glebe Park side lost 4-2 on their last trip to Bellslea in April – a result which proved costly as they missed out on the title to Buckie on the final day of the season.
Cregg said: “We know it will be a tough game.
“Any away game in this league is going to be very difficult.
“We just have to have a front foot mentality and take the game to them.
“They will have their moments but we need to try to keep that to a minimum throughout the 90 minutes.
“We are well aware they are a good team.
“We have to embrace it and look forward to the game.”
Brechin will be missing midfielder Ryan Ferguson after he suffered a hamstring injury in Wednesday’s 2-0 win against Inverurie Locos.
Cattachs gear up for big test
Brora Rangers boss Steven Mackay also hopes his side can maintain their perfect start to the season.
Mackay reckons this weekend’s visit of Formartine United to Dudgeon Park will be a chance for his players to show they are capable of challenging for the title this season.
He said: “We know what Formartine can bring and the threats they pose.
“It will be a tough game but we are really looking forward to it.
“It is another good test for us to see where we are.
“Formartine are a team who will be up there challenging.
“It is a game we have to look to do well in and hopefully win because if we want to be up there challenging this season then these are the types of games we have to win.”
Formartine will be looking to bounce back following their 2-1 home defeat against Turriff United.
Tokely upbeat ahead of Banks o’ Dee
Ross Tokely reckons Nairn County set the standard by winning at Clachnacuddin on Wednesday – now he wants a repeat performance against Banks o’ Dee on Saturday.
After losing their opening Highland League match 3-0 against Brechin last weekend, the former Caley Thistle defender called for a huge midweek improvement against a Lilywhites team with back-to-back 2-0 wins against Lossiemouth and Keith.
A sublime strike from ex-Ross County starlet Matthew Wright and a Josh Meekings own goal earned Nairn their first three points and they travel to Aberdeen to tackle a Dee team with seven points from three games following their last-gasp 2-1 midweek victory at Keith.
Ahead of the match, Nairn completed the signing of Formartine winger Scott Lisle on a three-year deal.
Tokely, who replaced Steven Mackay in the Station Park hot-seat in June, said: “I was really disappointed with Saturday’s performance against Brechin City, not just in terms of application, but we didn’t really make a game of it.
“On Wednesday, the players delivered, and I thought we were excellent, including that goal from Matthew Wright.
“I couldn’t have asked for any more from the players. They were superb.
“It was an entertaining first half. Both teams wanted to attack and score.
“At times, we just were taking a couple of risks, but it was from a ball over the top that Matthew ran on to and scored a super goal, as he does in training. He has those qualities.
“I made a couple of big calls on Wednesday. I put Ben Barron and Angus Dey, who was probably our man of the match against Brechin, on the bench. It’s what I’m here for and it worked out.
“I asked them to respond to Saturday and match Clach’s work-rate. Conor Gethins has done a great job, and we knew it would be a difficult game. You don’t get anything for nothing at Grant Street. You must put the work in.
“I was really pleased to get our first win of the season.”
Tokely expects a tough encounter against a Banks o’ Dee side who are expected to be challenging at the top end of the table.
He said: “Banks o’ Dee have spent a bit of money and they’ll be up within the top six.
“They’re a good side and there’s no doubt they’ll give us a challenge. They’re a strong side and we need to stand up against them.
“But if we reproduce the same quality, desire and work-rate as we did against Clach, we’ve every chance. We need the same level of performance as we gave on Wednesday.”
Tokely praised on-loan Ross County centre-half Ali Morrison for his performance against Clach.
He added: “I thought young Ali was man of the match against Clach by a country mile.”
Wright came off early in the second half with a quad injury in midweek but could be fit to feature at Spain Park.
Banks o’ Dee are unchanged from the squad which came from behind to win 2-1 at Keith.
Buckie Thistle will be without defender Darryl McHardy for the trip to Huntly following his red card in Wednesday’s 3-1 loss against Fraserburgh, while the Black and Golds are unchanged from the squad that drew 2-2 at Deveronvale.
Gethins encouraged by Clach start
Boss Conor Gethins insists Clachnacuddin still have a spring in their step – despite Nairn County preventing a third successive win.
Successive 2-0 victories against Lossiemouth and Keith got the Lilywhites’ Highland League campaign off to a perfect start before Wednesday’s 2-0 reverse against Nairn.
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to face Inverurie Locos, Gethins said: “There is an energy around the club and within the squad. Everyone seems to be on board with what’s going on.
“It was maybe just that wee bit flat on Wednesday in the final third, so maybe that’s up to us to do a wee bit of rejigging for Saturday.
“The players have put a lot of effort in within the last two months, and in the first three games, so we might shake it up.
“It will be a tough game at Inverurie on Saturday. They are a very well organised team, with good patterns of play, so we will see how we go.
“I expect it will be quite a tactical game. Deano (Locos manager Dean Donaldson) has got his way of playing.
“We played them twice towards the end of last season, back-to-back, which you don’t ever want to do, and there didn’t seem to be a huge amount between the teams, so we’ll work on things and be ready for Saturday. Let’s see whether we can get back to winning ways.”
Paul Coutts and Lloyd Robertson are doubts for Locos while Josh Buchan, Daniel Agnew and Cole Anderson all miss out.
Keith will be without Ryan Robertson, Murray Addison, Michael Ironside and Scott Barron when they attempt to win their first points of the season at Rothes.
Strathspey Thistle are missing Liam Shewan and Conor Macphee due to injury for the visit of Forres but Ali Nixon returns from holiday. Dillon Lawrence could be fit enough to make the bench.
The Cans head into the match with one point from their first three games. They will be without Andrew Skinner and Shaun Morrison.
Murray Cormack (ankle) is Turriff’s only absentee for the visit of Lossiemouth to the Haughs.
Lossie bolstered their squad ahead of the fixture by signing Buckie Thistle goalkeeper Stuart Knight on a two-year deal.
Deveronvale head to Wick without Kyle Dalling, Sean McIntosh and Max Stewart. Player-manager Garry Wood and Mikey Watson face late fitness tests.
The Scorries are missing defender Rob McLean as well as long-term absentees Mark Macadie and Matthew Aitkenhead.
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