Danny Strachan has been frustrated by his fringe role at Peterhead – but that has not dimmed his desire to help keep them up.
Full-back Strachan was recalled to the side last weekend for the 5-0 defeat against Falkirk, his first start since December 24.
It has been a tough watch for Strachan as his home-town club remains at the foot of League One, following a very poor season.
“It’s always difficult when you’re not in the team,” he said. “You need to keep your head down, work hard and try to force your way into the team.
“I have always wanted to play for this club, so I want to be in the team. I want to be the one that helps keep us up.
“I feel it’s a bigger club than being in League Two.
“I have been in the crowd when they’ve been struggling and it’s not nice.
“But I’ve been in the crowd when things are going well.
“If we can get a couple of results then we can go into the play-offs with confidence.”
The talk of play-offs is a clear indication of where Peterhead find themselves. They are 21 points adrift of eighth spot and automatic safety.
The best-case scenario now, with nine games to go, is to consign Clyde to the automatic relegation spot at the bottom of the table and give themselves a second-chance in the play-offs.
“It definitely looks that way now,” added Strachan. “The gap is too far to overcome, so we need to make sure we finish above Clyde and go into the play-offs feeling confident.
“We need to finish strong and we’re the best team of the four in the play-offs.”
On the back of the thumping against Falkirk, Peterhead’s task does not get much easier.
They take on league-leaders Dunfermline this afternoon at Balmoor – provided the pitch passes an 8am inspection – with time running out to put points on the board.
“We know it will be a difficult game,” added Strachan. “We managed to get a point down there at the start of the season, but we’ll need to be at our best to get anything from it.
“We don’t really have an easy game in this league.
“At home, we need to start picking up points. We can’t afford any more free hits and relying on Clyde not winning.”
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