McCall moves to accentuate the positive
Ayr United manager Ian McCall takes his team to Alloa this afternoon with the League 1 title still in their sights.
Defeat from Stranraer last weekend and a two- game suspension for top goalscorer Lawrence Shankland has supporters of the Honest Men fretting.
But McCall said: “There has been a bit of negativity around after losing at home in our last outing.
“But it has not been negative in our dressing room.
“A lot has been made about having Lawrence missing after losing the appeal against his sending-off.
“But we have two other strikers who can still play, and they have scored 38 goals between them this season.
“One of them, Michael Moffat, is a candidate for the PFA Player of the Season.
“So we are replacing one player picked by his peers as one of the best players in our league, Lawrence, with another.
“The other striker, Craig Moore, has the highest goals-to-minutes ratio in the UK, due to the number of times he has scored coming off the bench before holding on to a starting jersey recently.”
Fate has also stepped in to help The Honest Men.
McCall admits: “It is funny how things work out.
“In the week before the Stranraer game, Michael was not at his sharpest.
“He has played in more than 40 games this season, and we told him to take a couple of days off and simply rest.
“He did that and was on the bench last weekend. He is now ready to go, feeling fresher than he has been in a while.”
“We have been eight points behind Raith Rovers at times this season. But now everything is in our hands, so we should be delighted with where we are.
“It will be tough as Alloa are in the play-offs, but jostling for third place. “So we will have a game on our hands.” Alloa manager Jim Goodwin said: “I want us heading into the play-offs with momentum and confidence.
“Beating Ayr United would help us do that.
“What I do not want, if the chance comes up for them, is Ayr United celebrating winning the league at our place. No one wants another team celebrating at their home.”