PAUL HARTLEY

It has been a tough spell for everyone at the club, and the losing run was typified by last Friday’s defeat at Somerset Park.

We started well, but Ayr got a break for their first goal, and once again we suffered from the defensive lapses which have scarred the whole campaign.

Unfortunately, it has been a recurring theme where we make mistakes, we gift the opposition goals, and we don’t give ourselves the opportunity to get a real foothold in the game.

It has been the case that we’re not creating enough chances either, or when we do, when balls are flashing across the penalty area, we’re not getting enough bodies into the box. That is partly down to confidence. When you’re flying, when you’re winning games, players take risks, they get into good positions more often. If everything is going against you, you’re more likely to be cautious. It is a mindset we’re going to have to change.

At this level, you might only get a few good scoring opportunities in a match, and we simply have to be more clinical.

We are all aware that we are going to have to be better at both ends of the pitch if we’re to remain in the Championship, and we all have to take responsibility, both as individuals and collectively as a group.

I still believe we have what it takes to stay up. That’s not just blind optimism, it’s a genuine feeling, but we have to try to remain positive.

I watch the players in training, I see what they are capable of, and I know the spirit in the camp remains high. What we need is for the guys to take what they show me in training into the games.

That can be difficult at times, and I do feel for the players. It’s not easy when you’re losing week after week, and the temptation is for the heads to go down, but we cannot afford to let that happen in the last six games. I see it in them, I know they have the attributes we are going to need. I don’t want anyone playing with fear, I want them to express themselves, to get back to the performance levels which will see us pick up the results we all want.

Obviously, the games away to Hamilton and Arbroath this month are going to be massive, and they will decide the fates of all three clubs, but we cannot afford to focus on them right now. First and foremost, we have to do the business this afternoon.

We’ve done well against Partick Thistle this season, with a draw and a victory at Firhill, and another share of the points here at Balmoral, a game which was snatched from us in the cruellest of fashions deep into stoppage time.

It would be good to think that we might get a break or two during the run-in, but the most important thing will be the application and desire of the players. Get that right, and we can secure that coveted eighth place.

Enjoy the match!

Paul Hartley

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— Season 22/23 statistics

Cove go into this afternoon’s encounter with Partick Thistle unbeaten in the three previous meetings with the Firhill side this season.

The first was back in mid-September, and off the back of five games without a win, the side looked in serious trouble when, after goals from Lawless and Bannigan, Thistle were coasting to victory, 2-0 up with time running out.

We were saved by an unlikely hero in the shape of Mark Reynolds. From two Shay Logan deliveries in the last nine minutes, the central defender twice rifled home from inside the box to earn the most unexpected of points.

There was also to be late drama in the last game against Partick at Balmoral, but this time it was of a heart-breaking nature.

Cove had secured an early advantage, Longstaff and Johnston combining to set up Mitch Megginson, and the skipper lashed the ball home from ten yards.

The lead could easily have been extended, Fyvie twice coming close and Leighton McIntosh spurning a one-on-one, but as the match ticked over into the fifth minute of stoppage time, it looked as if we would see it through.

Thistle forced one last corner, and when the delivery arrived, goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon found himself unmarked to glance a perfectly placed header beyond Stuart McKenzie.

Two months later we were back in Maryhill and this time the match was settled much earlier. Megginson was again the scorer, getting on the end of a superb cross from Cieran Dunne to divert the ball back across goal and into the net.

From then on, the players defended solidly, and Scott Fox, making just his third appearance for the club, pulled off a series of outstanding saves to ensure we finally picked up our first away success of the campaign.