Room for improvement in Elgin City's performance levels when they take on Cowdenbeath today, says manager Gavin Price
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ELGIN City fans are back at Borough Briggs today, and manager Gavin Price wants his players to put on a show.
The Black and Whites ended a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 success at Stirling Albion last without playing well, according to manager Price.
Price, fresh from signing a new City contract until 2023, is confident his men can build on their victory by beating Cowdenbeath on Saturday – but only if they play to their capabilities.
“We weren’t at our best but managed to grind out the win, which was good,” he said. “A lot of games this season will be like that when there’s not much between the sides, but if we can turn these games into more wins than defeats, it gives you a good chance.
“Against Cowdenbeath, I think we’ve got to play better than we did on Saturday. We’ve got to be better with the ball, but it’s something we are working at in training this week and we will approach the game in a positive manner.
“Every game is a new challenge for us and you can’t drop five per cent in games or you’ll come unstuck.
“We just have to try and take care of ourselves and make sure we are at it. We know if we play to our full potential we can win the game, but we need to make sure we are at our best.”
City continued their good form on the road over the past 18 months by edging out Stirling, thanks to goals by Stephen Bronsky and Aiden Sopel.
Travel sickness used to be a concern for the Moray club, with wins hard to come by at away venues in recent seasons. But over the course of last season and the current campaign, Price’s side have won more times than they have been defeated on their travels.
In all competitions, City have won 13 and drawn five of their 26 away matches since last July. They have only been defeated five times in 17 league matches on the road during this time.
“We got into a good habit of doing that last season,” said Price. “In the long term it’s built a bit of character within the squad because it takes resilience and determination to get that out of their system.
“We have become better at seeing games out, that’s for sure.”
At Stirling last week, Price handed rare starts to Sopel and striker Josh Peters, and a first start to local lad Joel MacBeath.
“I’m pleased with their contribution. I felt we needed to freshen things up a bit and with Kane Hester being out as well, it was necessary,” he said. “In the wide areas I felt we needed to use the squad. Aiden has been excellent since pre season, doing well when he’s come on and he works hard.
“He’s going in the right direction and if he keeps playing like that, he’ll be hard to dislodge from the team.”
Hester returns from suspension and Price admitted he had a range of options with his team selection.
The manager hopes fans will be back and that the team will reward them: “We will be looking to put a smile on their faces,” he said.
