Danny Strachan is channelling last season’s disappointment in his bid to experience success with hometown club Peterhead.
In his first full season at the Blue Toon, having signed permanently in June last year following two loan spells while at Dundee, the club endured a difficult campaign.
Peterhead were relegated from League One after winning only three games, and Strachan is determined to right those wrongs this season.
The Balmoor club made a strong start to life in League Two, sitting top after three games before successive defeats against The Spartans and Stranraer saw Peterhead drop to sixth.
It’s a break from league duty for the Blue Toon this weekend, as they travel to League One side Annan Athletic in the third round of the SPFL Trust Trophy.
But even after a disappointing fortnight, Strachan believes Peterhead are well on their way to a more successful campaign.
The defender said: “Last season was hugely disappointing for everyone associated with the club, and it hurt for me to see the club have such a tough year.
“Things just seemed to go from bad to worse and, being a fan of the club, that’s why it hurt so much. I was trying to impact that as much as I could but it was just a struggle for everyone.
“The two lads (co-managers Jordon Brown and Ryan Strachan) have done really well to recruit well and also with keeping some of the boys here that they wanted to stay.
“Already this season, despite the results over the last two weeks, it’s a much better team and there is a much better feel around the place. It’s been a fresh start.
“This season we want to bounce back and bring the club as much success as possible.”
League the priority but cup the current focus for Peterhead
What would success look like for Strachan and the Blue Toon? Strachan believes his side have what it takes to push for immediate promotion back to League One.
He said: “Within the group we’ve got a strong belief that we can go and push at the top for the title.
“You can see how close it is already at the start of the season. Two weeks ago we were sitting top and now we’re sixth after two disappointing results.
“It seems like it’s going to be quite a tight league, but we’re confident that we’ve got enough within our dressing room and if we do play well than we can go out and win most weeks.”
After successive defeats in League Two, Strachan believes the SPFL Trust Trophy clash against Annan at Galabank can be an opportunity for Peterhead to reset.
Strachan said: “The last two weeks have been disappointing and not even just the results, but the performances haven’t been to the level we expect them to be.
“This weekend will be a good test against a team in the league above. It’ll be a difficult game, but a good chance to get out there and try to right some wrongs.
“Hopefully we can go there and build some confidence to take back into the league.
“The league is our bread and butter and that’s what we’re going to be judged on over the course of the season, but everyone loves a cup run.
“There’s no reason why we can’t go down there get a result and be in the next round of the cup. We want to go as far as we can.”
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