Elgin City manager Allan Hale praises Black and Whites’ supporters and calls for them to help cheer team to victory over William Hill League 2 leaders Spartans this weekend
The team really thrives when the fans get behind them.
Elgin City manager Allan Hale hopes a big Borough Briggs backing can help his team topple the League 2 leaders this weekend.
City bring a six-game undefeated run into Saturday’s clash with Spartans, and Hale knows a strong home backing can bring the best out of his team.
He was thrilled to see a small band of Black and Whites followers make the 540-mile round trip to Stranraer last week and help their favourites secure a point in a 1-1 draw.
“The players deserve a lot of credit for sticking together,” said the manager. “Equally, I think you've got to really praise the supporters as well.
“We took a good following down to Stranraer on Saturday, and you've got to be a hardcore Elgin supporter to want to make that journey, take that time away and that expense that you've got to go through.
“In the last half an hour of the game where we were starting to take control, the way that they got behind the team and the reception they gave the players after the game was great.
“We took a really good following to Peterhead on a Tuesday night and again we saw the appreciation that they showed to the players.
“I just think, when we've got that together between the supporters and the players, it can create something really strong and really powerful, and it's great to see.
“The enthusiasm and the belief from them is coming back into the players, because it makes such a huge difference.
“We've stuck together through this period, we've got through the other side like we knew we always would.
“We always felt once we got a settled team on the pitch, and we then were able to get into our normal rhythm of training on Tuesday and Thursday, we always felt we'd be fine.
“We've got a much stronger squad than what we had last year, there's much more depth to it, but through the spine of our team, I think we've improved a lot.
“We just want to keep this momentum going for as long as we can.
“We know from the time that I've been at the club that we're capable of putting positive runs together, and, you know, the players are doing so again at the moment, and typically every time that we pick up a negative result, we always respond positively.”
Hale’s feels one area his team can improve is in being more clinical with the chances they are creating.
He hopes the loan addition of Peterhead striker Oliver Colloty can add to their firepower.
“It's no surprise that we're playing well at the moment. The only thing that I can maybe be a little bit critical of is that, we need to start taking more of our chances that we're creating.
“That's been a continuation from last season as well, but I think if we can do that, we can find that our game management can be a lot easier moving forward, and our chances of picking up positive results week-on-week are much stronger.”