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BossKerr wants two wins from next two games –Spartans and Kelty
Brian Kerr has challenged his East Kilbride side to stamp their authority on the Lowland League with maximum points from clashes with Spartans and Kelty Hearts.
Unbeaten Kilby face their toughest tests of the season so far over the next fortnight, with a trip to the defending champions on Saturday followed by the visit of high-flying new boys Kelty seven days later.
Spartans, who have played a game more than second place EK, top the table by a point and Kelty sit three points off the summit in third spot.
So Kerr knows, even after just six games, these contests could prove pivotal.
The K-Park gaffer said: “It’s two games that, after a great start to the season, can help us stamp our authority on the league or it can put us into a real battle for the rest of the season. “That’s the test for the boys. “When we looked at the top games for how the league would go this season, the Spartans game was certainly one of them and Kelty was another.
“So the games that we thought were going to matter – and matter big – are our next two weeks.
“We know what we are going into and we know what’s expected.
“We want to be consistent from now until Christmas, win as many points as possible and see where we are then.
“Results are required and we will go in positive because we’ve been flying high.
“We’ve been a wee bit lucky in that we’ve mostly played teams lower in the league.
“Now the hard work and the real test comes because we’ll be playing Spartans, Kelty, Cumbernauld, Edusport and East Stirling in our next few games.
“These are teams who have a bit more quality, so they are going to be tough.
“At the same time, it becomes easier for our boys to lift their game.
“You could see that against BSC earlier in the season when we went there and did a good job [winning 3-0].
“I’m sure now the challenges are getting bigger, our boys will react to that.”
On their last league outing, Kilby were held to a 1-1 draw away to Edinburgh University.
Kerr’s men passed up a host of chances and were made to pay just before the break when the students equalised.
It was a similar story when Kilby drew 1-1 with Spartans last month in the IRN-BRU Cup, before prevailing on penalties.
Spartans are renowned for being a tough team to break down – although Kilby won both of their league meetings last term
– so when Saturday comes Kerr wants his players to be ruthless in front of goal.
He said: “The chances we are creating is pleasing. We are free-flowing and scoring a lot of goals.
“But we are passing up too many opportunities.
“We are creating the best part of 10-15 very good chances and maybe only taking two or three of them.
“When it gets to these bigger games, you may only get six or seven chances and you need to take two or three.
“We can’t afford to miss that many chances in these games coming up.”
Only EK (3) have conceded fewer goals than Spartans (4) so far in the league.
Patience will be key at Ainslie Park with Spartans likely to adopt the same tactics employed in the IRN-BRU Cup clash: soaking up pressure and hoping to hit EK on the break.
Kerr added: “It can be frustrating because they are so organised.
“They don’t play out from the back too often, they’ll try and get forward quickly in numbers, but as soon as they lose it they are back with 10 or 11 men behind the ball again. “They make it very difficult. “We had a lot of pressure and opportunities in the last game, but it could have swung either way late on. They had a good chance in the last minute as well, so we know they are a good side.
“It’s a big game for us and we are looking forward to it.”