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Cove Rangers midfielder Fraser Fyvie says he and his team-mates need to up their game if they are to take anything off Livingston in tomorrow’s Premier Sports Cup clash at Balmoral Stadium.

While Fraser is pleased to be going into the Group G tie on the back of a 2-1 win away to Albion Rovers in midweek, he admitted the performance at the Reigart Stadium was far from a perfect one.

He accepts standards will need to be raised against Premiership side Livi.

Fraser said: “The game against Albion was only our fourth since returning from our summer break, so you could see the rustiness in us.

“I don’t think we played well at all, but it was good to at least get the win and another ninety minutes under our belts.

“But we will need to do a lot better now that we are coming up against Premiership opponents. They are a decent side and will punish us if we make the sort of errors, we were guilty of at times against Albion.

“At least we are a game fitter going in to face Livi, which should help.

“Everyone accepts it will be a much tougher test for us, but it’s also a game we are all really looking forward to.”

The fixture will go a long way towards deciding Cove’s fate in the group and their chances of making the knockout stages for the first time, but Fraser says it’s also an opportunity for the players to get closer to full match fitness:

“The more minutes we get under our belts the better we should be when we start our league campaign, which is the main priority. I’ve been fortunate to play the full ninety minutes in all four of the games so far, which is great.

“While the priority right now is to get even fitter, you also want to win every game you play in.

“It’s what we are paid to do and what the fans will be expecting us to do.

“Cove Rangers have never gone beyond the group stage before, so it would be nice if we could change that. We will be giving our all in the three ties we have left and see where that takes us.”

Fraser also admitted he’s enjoying adjusting to playing for new manager Jim McIntyre, who has used the games played so far to try out a variety of tactics and formations.

“It’s been great, even though it will take us time to adapt to what the manager wants from us,” said Fraser.

“I was asked to play as the number 6 in midfield at times against Albion, and then encouraged to get further up the pitch as often as I could later on.

“To be honest, I don’t care if I’m asked to play number 6, 8 or 10, as long as I’m actually getting a game.

“The fact we are able to try so many different formations is an indication of the quality of the squad we have.

“We have a lot of really good players at Cove who have only one desire, which is to do the very best that they can for the club.”

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