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The team belatedly kicks-off the second quarter of its League One campaign on Saturday with the lengthy journey to Dumfries to take on Queen of the South.

The 420 mile round trip comes three weeks after our last fixture, the 3-2 home victory over Annan Athletic, last week’s planned encounter with Montrose falling victim to Storm Babet.

It has been a frustrating time for the squad and manager Paul Hartley:

“We did manage to get some indoor work done at the end of last week, but the outdoor conditions weren’t great, and facilities were limited. It was disappointing, but when you consider what some people went through last weekend, what we had to face up to really wasn’t that important.

“We got the players topped-up as best we could, then got back into proper training on Monday and Tuesday.

“Of course it was a disruption, but we weren’t the only club affected, so you just have to get on with it, and we have got back to a normal week.”

The enforced break came at the wrong time for midfielder Blair Yule, five games into his comeback from long term injury:

“I’ve been feeling good, but the interruption came at the wrong time. We’d just got a win and we were certainly keen to try to build on that. I’d even got a goal – probably my only one for the season! – and it would have been great just to keep going.”

“The first quarter didn’t go as well as we would have hoped, but we were feeling good after a few decent performances, and the victory over Annan has hopefully set us up for a better few months.”

The marathon journey is not quite the longest of the season, Dumfries being a little closer than Annan, but it will mean an early start on Saturday. That is not something that unduly concerns the manager:

“The players are used to that, some of them have travelled all over the country before, and we will prepare properly. We’ll get down there in plenty time, have our pre-match meal and make sure they are all in the best condition possible for the game.”

Blair agrees with the gaffer, and does not see the lengthy coach trip as something that should affect the squad:

“We did it a few years ago for the midweek Scottish Cup replay and won comfortably that night. At least this one is a Saturday afternoon, and we know the club will do everything it can to make sure we are ready. I’m looking forward to going down and hoping we can kick on.”

The manager would love to see a repeat of that performance in December 2021, a 3-0 win in which he says “we played really well that night”, and he believes he can get a similar display from his side given their form of late:

“We’ve been on an okay run, creating chances and scoring plenty goals. We know that the main issue has been at the other end of the pitch, and resolving that, keeping a few clean sheets, will go a long way towards seeing us move up the table.

“We’ve got a game in hand against Montrose, which will now go ahead next month, and until then we just need to try to pick up as many points as we can.”

Having lost five in a row, Queens bounced back with a narrow win at Annan last week, and Paul says that is typical of the league and its unpredictability:

“That’s just what it’s like, that can happen to just about anybody. Hamilton and Falkirk have been on terrific runs, but the rest of us have struggled a bit for consistency, and you see the difference a couple of wins makes.

“If we can build from the success over Annan, we’ll be in a much better place to start improving our position.”

Josh Kerr had been due to return to training this week, but suffered a setback because of food poisoning. He and Luke Strachan will again be missing, along with skipper Mitch Megginson, who completes his two-match suspension.

Supporters planning on travelling down to the game can find the relevant information HERE

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