Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘It all comes down to this’ – Andy McCarthy knows Clyde clash is pivotal to Peterhead’s survival hopes

The Blue Toon must secure at least a point against relegation rivals Clyde on Saturday if they are to be in with a chance of beating automatic relegation from League One.

Peterhead midfielder Andy McCarthy. Image: Duncan Brown.
Peterhead midfielder Andy McCarthy. Image: Duncan Brown.

Andy McCarthy and his Peterhead team-mates don’t need to be told how important this weekend’s League One clash with Clyde is.

The 10th-placed Blue Toon must secure at least a point on Saturday at Balmoor Stadium against the ninth-placed Bully Wee if they are to avoid automatic relegation from League One.

A defeat would leave Peterhead trailing Clyde by eight points with two games remaining, and their relegation to League Two – after four years in the Scottish third-tier – would be confirmed.

The Buchan outfit have only won just three times this season – against FC Edinburgh, Kelty Hearts and their weekend visitors – and McCarthy knows they must aim to make it four this weekend.

He said: “It’s obviously a massive game and it all comes down to this for us. It’s massive and we know we need to win.

“I think most games are must-win, but I understand this is a severe one. We have to use it as motivation, rather than letting it get to us. We can’t be nervous.

“We’ve got experienced boys here, myself included, who have played long enough to know how important this game is.

Peterhead midfielder Andy McCarthy in action against Falkirk. Image: Duncan Brown
Peterhead midfielder Andy McCarthy in action against Falkirk. Image: Duncan Brown

“Obviously we don’t want these big games to be at this end of the table, but it’s a game where we all need to go there and give it our best.

“If we do that, then I’m confident we’ll win the game.”

Ahead of the Blue Toon’s potentially fate-sealing game, former Queen of the South and Partick Thistle midfielder McCarthy has demanded one thing from his team-mates.

He added: “No matter what happens in the game, we need to keep our cool and stay calm. We need to be brave on the ball.

“That’s going to be the biggest thing – showing some bravery to get on the ball, which I always try and do. I’m sure my team-mates will do the same (against Clyde) as well.”

Peterhead want to repay player-coach duo with wins

A win over Clyde would give Peterhead a fighting chance to escape relegation and McCarthy believes it would be just reward for Jordon Brown and Ryan Strachan, who are currently at the helm as player-interim co-managers.

Since the duo were handed the reins at Balmoor, there have been noticeable improvements in performances, but the Blue Toon have still struggled to secure results.

McCarthy said: “Since they’ve come in, we’ve been night-and-day as team: the way we’ve tried to play and the style they have implemented.

Peterhead caretaker co-managers Jordon Brown, left, and Ryan Strachan, right. Image: Shutterstock/Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

“It’s been a quick transition and it’s not as if they’ve ever been managers before, so a lot of credit has to go to them for the job they’ve done.

“I know the results haven’t been there, but you can see the difference in how we’ve been playing. They’ve made us tactically better and there’s a better mentality and spirit within the group.

“They’re my friends – and I want to see them do well and repay them by winning games.”

Conversation