Aberdeen Grammar centre Greig Ryan has called on his players to rediscover their mean streak tomorrow when Selkirk visit Rubislaw.
Grammar’s wait for a win in 2018 continues following their third defeat in a row last weekend and Ryan insists there has to be a big improvement after the 22-18 home loss to Stewart’s-Melville FPs.
He said: “It’s been a tough start to 2018 but last weekend was especially poor from us. I didn’t play but it was brutal. We didn’t turn up to the races and we cannot underestimate the teams below us in the league.
“We are in a decent position in the league but the teams lower than us are fighting for their lives and we have to match that desire when we play them.
“We’re in the business end of the season now and we need to be building up momentum now, not losing it.
“We’ve got Selkirk, one of the strongest teams in the division, and we have to show a big improvement on last weekend.”
Grammar went through a similar run at the beginning of the National 1 season and Ryan is eager to get the first win on the board.
Coach Ali O’Connor has set a target of a top-four finish this term and Grammar were on course by the winter break.
But their sluggish start to the year has resulted in them dropping back to seventh and Ryan is eager to reverse the trend.
He said: “Kelso was our first game back from the winter break and it felt like a pre-season game as both teams tried to blow off the cobwebs.
“We gave Accies, who are the best team in the league, a real run for their money at Rubislaw and a couple of missed balls was the difference in that game.
“But last weekend was really disappointing and we cannot let poor displays like that happen at home.
“The away teams don’t like making three or four hour bus journeys up to Aberdeen to play and we should be taking advantage of that.
“We didn’t do that last weekend and we have to when Selkirk visit tomorrow.
“We started the season poorly and it took us a couple of matches to get going but once we got our first win we put together a strong run.
“We’ve had three defeats on the bounce now since coming back and we need to get that first win to get going again.”