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Boss Jim McIntyre has issued a rallying call, saying everyone at the club has to pull together if we’re to emerge from the recent disappointing run.

The under-par performance against Ayr United last weekend made it three defeats in a row, and left Cove just one point off the bottom, but the manager has expressed his faith in his players, and has pledged they will be giving their all in a bid to turn things round:

“We all know it hasn’t been good enough in the last few matches; we also know if that continues, we’re going to be in trouble. But there is still that same desire to succeed, and the boys will be working hard this week.

“When you’re up against it, the only way around that is to put in the graft, and the players know that. They’re a good, honest bunch, and I can see they still have the determination you need.

“This is a new scenario for most of them. While they’ve been at Cove, it’s been a story of uninterrupted success as they’ve come up through the divisions. They’re not used to losing, and there has to be a different mentality.

“Stepping up to the Championship, we were always likely to have to face up to a spell like this. How the players react is going to be key to what happens in the next few months, and I have every confidence they will do so in a positive way.”

Adding to Jim’s troubles, five players were missing from training last night.

Saturday’s walking wounded – Scott Ross, Mitch Megginson and Mark Reynolds – were joined on the sidelines by Blair Yule, whose ankle problem continues to be monitored, and Evan Towler, who was unwell.

At this stage, it is a waiting game to see how many might be available for the trip to take on Queen’s Park on Saturday:

“It’s too early right now, the players will get either the treatment, or the rest, they need, and we will do whatever it takes to try to get them ready.

“It does mean the squad is stretched, but the other players have to see this as an opportunity.

“If the guys who have been on the bench get a starting place at the weekend, they have to go out and prove to me they should be in the side. They’re all good players, they’re all capable of making an impact, and whoever I call on, I would expect them to show that.”

With injuries and suspensions always likely to bite, Jim is well aware that he still needs reinforcements. It is something he has been working on tirelessly:

“Ideally, I would want two more in before the window shuts. The board have been supportive, the resources are there, but the issue has been convincing the right quality of player to go part-time and potentially relocate.

“We can still get loans in next month, and it might be that’s the route we’re going to have to go down.”

Momentum is everything in football, and that can work in a positive or negative way. The manager says he has belief in his team, and promises the effort will be put in to reverse the recent trend:

“We all know how quickly things can turn around in football. It can be a split second in a game, a well-crafted move or even a lucky goal; you just need that one moment to go your way, and the confidence comes surging back.

“Hard work underpins that, and we’ll be putting that in this week in a bid to get the right result on Saturday.”

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