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Unbeaten in four matches, the squad goes into the weekend encounter with high-flying Morton full of confidence, and determined to keep the run going.

Six points clear of Hamilton, and five ahead of Arbroath, our advantage was maintained thanks to Blair Yule’s late equaliser at Gayfield last week, the midfielder’s first goal of the season:

“It was great to get on the scoresheet, to contribute, but mainly it was important for the team, we deserved it, and it kept our lead over them.”

Having missed the early part of the campaign because of an ankle injury, it took an injection to get him back playing again, and Blair had another jab last week, with the issue beginning to flare up again. It is something he was happy to do:

“That should be it fine for the next couple of months now, I’ve had a top-up, and I’m all good for now. I’ve had sound advice from the manager, who’s had a similar injury, and from the specialists, that this is the way to treat it for now.

“I have felt fine in terms of getting around the pitch, my dad (Raymond, also a Cove legend) was always the same, we just seem to have that natural fitness, and that’s allowed me to get up to speed quickly after the long lay-off.”

Blair has had a major role to play since the change in formation which has seen Gerry McDonagh join Mitch Megginson up front, and sparked the current unbeaten run:

“I’ve been playing alongside Charlie Gilmour in the heart of the midfield, and I’ve really enjoyed that. He wants the ball at his feet, but he can get into a battle too, wins balls in the air; I feel that as time’s gone on, we’ve formed a decent partnership and that has got to help the team.”

Morton arrive in the north-east on the back of five wins and two draws in their last seven games since taking a 5-1 hammering at Firhill at the start of October. It has been a remarkable turnaround in form; one which has seen Dougie Imrie’s side climb to second in the cinch Championship table:

“They’ve been doing great, haven’t they, so it’s going to be a real tough game, but it’s at home, we love playing at Balmoral, and we’ve picked up most of our points here, so we’ll be going in confident.”

Jim McIntyre acknowledges the improvement in Morton since our narrow defeat at Cappielow on the second Saturday of the season:

“They have been on a great run, and deserve credit for showing such consistency in what is a very competitive league. Our aim has to be to stop that.”

The manager will have one or two decisions to make in terms of the starting line-up, but feels he has good options:

“Kyle McClelland will still be absent, Evan Towler is away with the under-19s, and we’ve got a couple of players who are nursing injuries.

“Mitch Megginson will be a miss because of suspension, but I have every confidence in the squad, and whoever gets the nod, I’ll be expecting them to deliver.

“The players have shown a lot of good stuff of late; we will have to match Morton on a physical level, but our record here is good, and we will be going all out to maintain that.”

As we approach the midway point of the league season, the Championship has proved to be as unpredictable as ever, a point not lost on Blair Yule, who smiles as he delivers his verdict:

“It’s been pretty wild! I can’t say I took too much notice of it before being in this division, but it really is a free for all, anyone can beat anyone else, and it’s really exciting to be part of it.”

You can watch the full interview with Blair Yule at the Cove Rangers YouTube Channel

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