Sanders says Cove can compete with the best Championship teams

Jack Sanders believes Cove Rangers have shown all season that they can compete with the best teams in the Championship.

Cove have not had the results which, at times, they feel they deserve, but they have also been undone by a number of late errors.

Incidents where they haven’t had the rub of the green against Hamilton, Morton and Partick would have seen them five points better off and further up the table.

Cove are without a game this week, having been knocked out of the Challenge Cup, and will be back in action against Dundee at Dens Park on December 17.

“For me, personally, I’d want to be playing again straight away,” said Sanders. “We’ve shown this season we can compete with the good teams in this league and we want to make sure we put it right.

“Every time we set foot on the pitch we want to show what we can do and I think we do that on a weekly basis. We’ve not really had the rub of the green. Morton scored in the last kick of the game and Partick did the other day. Concentration, organisation as a team – we need to ensure we deal with that at all times.”

Cove have been locked in eighth spot in the Championship for a while now, since the 3-0 defeat to Raith Rovers.

They have been able to do enough to hold Arbroath and Hamilton Accies at bay below them. However the consistency to catch Partick Thistle, Raith and Inverness above them has not been there.

“Cove are new to this league and maybe you’d expect them not to be entirely at this level,” said Sanders. “But bar the Raith game, we’ve given a good account of ourselves.

“We’ve always been in the game and been the better team. It just shows if you don’t take your chances, you get punished because you’re playing against better players.”

Sanders also reflected on the bizarre circumstances of the late draw against Partick, with goalkeeper Jamie Sneddon coming upfield to score and grab a point for the Jags.

“We’ve all got our designated markers and, if your player is on the pitch, you mark him,” said Sanders.

“It’s up to the boys who haven’t got a man to designate who is picking up the keeper.

“Collectively we should have sorted that out.

“But to be fair to him, it’s an unbelievable header. You don’t see it very often. But it shouldn’t be happening.

“We had chances to kill the game but it came back to bite us.”

Jack Sanders believes Cove have not enjoyed the rub of the green this season.