The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Players are ‘flying’ for challenge of play-offs, says Elliott
“It is a big game, but there’s a lot of confidence going into it.” – Christie Elliott
Dundee players have been “flying” in training over the past few weeks says Christie Elliott. And the winger-turnedfull-back has called on his Dens Park team-mates to keep the good feelings coming with victory at Queen of the South tonight.
The 29-year-old knows only too well what form and confidence can do in a promotion/relegation tussle, having been on both sides of that fight as a Partick Thistle player.
Results this evening in Dumfries and Kirkcaldy will decide whether the next game for the Dark Blues will be a quarter-final or semi-final play-off place.
Victory, combined with Raith Rovers failing to get the better of champions Hearts, will be awarded with a bye and a week off.
Anything less than that combination and it is third place and a two-legged clash with Dunfermline next week.
Whichever way the division settles, however, Elliott knows it is all about keeping up the good form heading into the crunch promotion tussles.
“It is a big game but there is a lot of confidence going into it,” he said.
“We just have to concentrate on ourselves and get those three points on the board and hopefully the other result goes our way.
“It is important to keep this good run going.
“Having that consistency, you can see the confidence flying among the boys. With every result the confidence has been building.
“Where we are in the season, it is obviously a good time to have that going into the play-off games.”
Elliott’s previous experience of the Premiership play-offs is not good, having been part of the Thistle side who dropped out of the topflight at the hands of Livingston in 2018.
He does, though, have a second-tier winner’s medal after winning promotion with the Jags five years earlier.
Elliott said: “I won the league with Partick but I was also relegated with them, so I have had the mix of the two.
“Obviously, winning the league was perfect but losing in the play-offs and going down was a very hard time for everyone involved with the club.
“These play-off games are massive. When we were promoted, my family used to come up for a lot of the games.
“Winning games affects your full life in terms of you go back home happier afterwards – everything seems to fall into place perfectly.
“So that whole season when we won the league being incredibly consistent, was an unbelievable year.
“Seeing how pleased your family was just made you more buzzing.
“Winning the league is a big achievement and it was great to see how proud they were.
“Afterwards you can take a step back and see how much of an achievement it actually is and how hard it is to win a league.
“In terms of the bigger picture, it is massive.”
Elliott missed the first leg in 2018 as Livingston won 2-1 but returned to the team for the second leg with Thistle’s Premiership life on the line.
However, he could not help keep the Jags up as Keaghan Jacobs netted the only goal at Firhill to condemn the Maryhill side to the Championship.
Elliott would remain with the club the following season before heading to Carlisle in 2019.
He added: “When we got relegated, we were the Premiership team against Livingston.
“Sometimes the team coming from the division below are flying.
“They have momentum and have already won playoff games so their confidence is high.
“Going into the last two games, people might say they will be tired but they have the adrenaline running through them
because of the consistency and confidence of winning games.
“Livingston had that target of getting to the Premiership which is massive and the games didn’t really go our way. They were the better team so it was a hard one to take. So hopefully I can experience the flip side of the play-offs again going up the way.
“I have seen the difference between the two but the buzz about what is coming up is massive, with everything that is at stake and what you can achieve.
“The confidence in the squad is high and we are all on the same journey so hopefully we can finish the job.”
Elliott very much enjoyed winning the First Division title in 2013 but says the added challenge of getting through the play-offs would make promotion even sweeter.
He said: “Definitely – winning a league is a huge achievement but the play-offs are that bit harder.
“If we can get promoted through them I think it would be even more special.”