Price determined to keep the heat on leaders Montrose

Elgin manager Gavin Price is determined not to fall any further adrift of League 2 leaders Montrose when the two sides meet today.

City are fourth, seven points adrift of the Angus outfit, with the opportunity to close that gap with a victory at Links Park.

Price is eager to ensure the Black and Whites remain among the chasing pack, and he said: “It’s still early in the season but we don’t want to be losing any more ground on the leaders at the moment.

“Hopefully we can hang on to one of the top four positions as we have a lot of big games coming up and this weekend is another one.”

Price expects a difficult encounter against Stewart Petrie’s side, however, City go into the game with an impressive head-to-head record against the Gable Endies, losing only one of the last eight meetings between the sides, and cruising to a 3-0 win when they last met at Borough Briggs in September.

Price said: “Stewart has done a fantastic job considering the position they were in. It’s a hard game for us but it’s a team we’ve got a reasonable record against. We are not going there fearing anything, we are going there with confidence so we are hoping we can cause them more problems.”

Defender Matthew Cooper is back in contention after an ankle injury, while Price says talismanic striker Shane Sutherland is closing in on a return having been sidelined since March with a cruciate ligament injury.

Price added: “Shane is not far away. He is not quite training with the group yet but he is still looking on schedule to return around the turn of the year.”

“Montrose are a team we’ve got a reasonable record against”

Gavin Price