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We kick-off 2024 with a home game against promotion rivals Kelty Hearts, our third meeting of the season with the Fifers.

Last time out at Balmoral Stadium, the side came from 2-0 down to earn a draw in the match which sparked our eleven-game unbeaten run, and then in November we picked-up a 1-0 victory at New Central Park.

Rumarn Burrell secured the points that day, and has since embarked on a seven-match scoring streak in the league, bringing his overall tally to a remarkable nineteen goals.

With Paul Hartley celebrating the anniversary of his return to the club, the manager is hoping the striker can put in another positive performance to help us pick up three more valuable points:

“Rumarn has been on a sensational run; he has shown a lot of quality in the last few months. I think there’s even more to come from him, but he’s a good lad, works hard, and is now the top scorer in the country.

“I’ve no doubt that will have sparked some interest in him, but we’ve got him under contract for the rest of the season, and I don’t expect to see him going anywhere. He just has to focus on continuing to do what he has been doing.”

With the transfer window now open, Paul says he expects to be doing some business, but that will almost certainly depend on there being outgoings first:

“We have a decent sized squad, so would have to get some out before bringing anyone in. Any player who comes here would however have to be ready to go straight into the team, they would need to be at a certain level, because we have good quality right now.”

Captain Mitch Megginson is well aware of the threat Kelty pose this weekend, having had a good look at them in the two encounters so far:

“They are among the clubs that will be challenging us, and they’re a good side. We have already had two tough games against them, the 2-2 draw here, then we went down there and put in a strong defensive showing.

“This time, we’re at home, and we want to impose our presence on the game. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing in this league, you know you’re in for a difficult test, and Kelty have done well, so we just have to make sure we are ready for the challenge.

“When you are going head-to-head with the teams around you, first and foremost you just have to make sure you don’t lose the game, it’s important to pick up points, and to maintain the advantage you have over the sides below you.

“Having got that foothold, then you press on and try to secure the victory.

“We can’t do anything to affect those above us, other than when we’re playing Falkirk and Hamilton. It’s out of our control, so we just need to try to keep winning and hope they slip up, and we will see where that leaves us at the end of the season.”

That is a theme the manager is keen to hammer home, and he has set the squad some targets for the remainder of the campaign:

“The aim is to put together another long unbeaten run and to do that, we’ll have to keep working hard. We had a slow start to the season, but we’ve been in really good form of late, we’re well placed, top four at halfway would have been our target, and now we need to kick-on.”

“Kelty are a strong team, they’re competitive, and it will be a tough ninety minutes. The two encounters so far have been really difficult, there wasn’t much between the sides, and it will be down to which team is better on the day.”

Fraser Fyvie and Balint Demus are still sidelined while Luke Strachan is now close to returning to full training after months of rehab following his ankle operation in the summer.

Supporters can secure their tickets for the game in advance at this LINK

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