BINOS NEED WINTER LIFT
Mackay eyes key matches after back-to-back losses
Stirling Albion manager Dave Mackay admits his side are facing a crucial spell in the promotion race after back-to-back defeats to Berwick and Peterhead.
The Binos had no game at the weekend as their home match against bottom club Cowdenbeath was postponed due to a frozen pitch following an 11am inspection. The Blue Brazil already have a rearranged game with Stenhousemuir next midweek so the fixture won’t be rescheduled until 2018.
Annan Athletic’s artificial pitch should ensure Saturday’s match at Galabank goes ahead despite the freezing weather and Albion then face Montrose, Elgin and Stenhousemuir between now and January 2 as they aim to rekindle the form that saw them top the table for most of the campaign.
Mackay said: “It’s a massive four games coming up. At the end of that it’s a chance to be saying we have a chance of promotion or a play-off place or you could find yourself outside the play-off spots and scratching your head thinking what’s gone wrong in the last couple of months.
“Saturday’s game being off was a little bit frustrating. We had the defeat in midweek and the quicker the games come the better in that situation, but there’s not much we can do. We’ve been unfortunate a couple of times and hopefully we can get a game on Saturday.”
It will be tough at Galabank with Annan hitting form – and a former striker with perhaps something to prove.
“I watched them on Saturday at Stenny and I thought they were excellent,” added Mackay.
“They look like they have a good unit – they are a fit team and energetic. Blair Henderson got a hat-trick and Aidan Smith up front is a real handful. Blair will want to do well against his old club. He maybe didn’t do himself justice at Stirling but on Saturday he was excellent – he could have scored four or five goals.
“When he left it wasn’t because I thought he was a poor player, it just sometimes doesn’t work out with certain players at certain clubs and that seemed to be the case with Blair. He looks fitter, which comes with playing a lot of games, and also having a strike partner beside him has helped.”
Stirling head for Annan – where they lost 4-1 on their last visit in January – having managed just two victories in the last eight games and having failed to score in the last two.
Mackay knows an improvement is required. “There have been a few really poor performances recently. I think the Scottish Cup defeat to Lothian Thistle spooked us a little bit. That really stopped us in our tracks – the performance came out of nowhere and it was a real horror show.
“We’ve had a couple since that day and the players are a bit low on confidence – we just don’t quite have that spark that we did have earlier in the season but I’m confident it will come back.”
The Stirling boss has made no firm decisions about adding to his squad in January but concedes that the form of the team in the next few games could shape his thinking.
He said: “If the right players become available in the right areas then of course we will try and get them in. The players have been great for me for 10-12 weeks but the last month or so has got me thinking because we need to improve if we want to achieve our goals.”