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Off the back of a six match unbeaten run, the team makes its first ever visit to New Central Park this weekend for the encounter with Kelty Hearts.

It was the 2-2 draw between the sides at Balmoral Stadium which got us up and running this season, a match in which we trailed 2-0, but bounced back thanks to a Mitch Megginson double, and might easily have gone on to claim all three points.

The Fifers have been on a decent run themselves, have picked up three victories in that time, and sit just above Cove in the League One table.

Having recorded back-to-back clean sheets, and a trio of wins, Paul Hartley is hoping to see his players build on what has been an impressive last couple of months:

“We’re looking for the same again.

“The run we’ve been on, that’s a reward for the hard work we’ve been putting in over the past four months. We’ve shown quality, there’s a bit of momentum, a feelgood factor, and we just need to keep that going.”

The manager says he was not surprised there were a few struggles earlier in the campaign, given all the changes over the summer, and he points out that Cove have not been alone in that:

“You look at the clubs who have been in transition, even some of the biggest clubs in the English Premier League, and they’ve found it difficult too. Integrating new players isn’t easy, and we did find it tough. It was always going to take some time.”

“We’ve had to work with some of the guys, help them settle in, but we always believed in the process, and it feels as if we’re getting there. We can still get better, and we will be working hard to do that, but we’re in a good place right now.

“Everything is about results, and now that we’re picking up more points, that makes the players believe, it boosts confidence, and we get the best out of them. They’ve always trained well; now we’re seeing that on the pitch during games.”

Having picked up successive 1-0 wins, the defence has looked more solid, and that’s a fact that pleases the gaffer:

“We were crying out for that, we just couldn’t keep a clean sheet, and for the last couple of games we’ve had that perfect balance. Nick Suman has helped with a number of really good saves, but the players in front of him have played their part too, putting in the blocks and tackles. Managing a game is important, and that’s what we’ve been able to do.”

“It has been great to see us starting to climb the table, and now we’re not far off where we would have wanted to be, but it’s only a start, and we have to keep going.”

Paul says the last meeting with Kelty was important for the side, and it has been the catalyst for the improvement since:

“That was a big afternoon. We’d had some bad results previously, and we went 2-0 down, but the team showed great character, battled back to pick up a point, and the self-belief improved after that.

“Kelty have been going well, and their manager, Michael Tidser, who I’ve known since he was a kid at Celtic, has been doing a good job.

“We know what to expect from them, and we’re going to have to start well, get on the front foot and try to impose ourselves on the game. If we can perform as we have been, we’ll give ourselves a real chance to keep the run going.”

Luke Strachan remains sidelined, but less than three months after fracturing his ankle, Josh Kerr has proved his fitness in training and returns to the squad.

Supporters planning on traveling down to Fife can buy their tickets HERE

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