CAPTAIN’S VIEW —

I would like to begin by welcoming you all to Balmoral Stadium for this afternoon’s clash with Arbroath.

Your support between now and the end of the season will be vital. It helps the boys on the pitch massively when we see and hear you backing us – it gives us that extra drive and energy which can make all the difference in matches!

The club’s ticket offer will hopefully help bring in bigger crowds, and the players will give their all during the 90 minutes to ensure you enjoy the match, and go home wanting to come back.

Your support has also been brilliant on the road, particularly last weekend at Dens. Even after falling behind, we could hear you cheering us on and picking us up.

We were disappointed with the outcome of that game. We went into it full of confidence off the back of our excellent performance against Partick Thistle the week before. We did well in the first half by limiting Dundee to very few chances. Frustratingly, after putting so much into the first 45 minutes, we switched off during the opening period of the second half, and gifted them two goals.

We always knew it was going to be a tough game, as we were coming up against a side challenging for the title. But at this level, it is important to be switched on for the full 90 minutes, particularly when you come up against a side with as much quality as Dundee, otherwise you will be punished, and unfortunately, we were.

What is going to be key to finishing the season strongly is making sure to not get too high after a victory, nor too low after a defeat. We have had many ups and downs already this season, and there is no doubt that will continue throughout the remainder of the campaign. Every match is just as important as the other now. It is going to be a graft between now and the end of the season, so it is vital that we put the hard work in, be aggressive, and make sure our opponents know that they are in a game every time we step out onto that pitch.

Arbroath will be looking to do the same this afternoon. We know they will be in our faces and will come here looking to make it a difficult afternoon for us. We must make sure we win that battle, and then let our quality shine through.

Arbroath have made a number of signings since our last meeting, and so we know it will be a completely different game to the ones we have played already this season. It is important that we take the game to them, and also that the fans get right behind the team, in order for us to come away with the three points this afternoon.

COYCR!

Mitch Megginson