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With just thirteen games left in the regular season, the side is gearing up for a potentially massive showdown with Alloa Athletic on Saturday.

Andy Graham’s side beat Annan on Tuesday night to leapfrog us up into third, and with Kelty also picking up three points against Edinburgh City, the League One table has tightened considerably, with six sides battling it out for what look certain to be just two remaining places in the play-offs.

Midfielder Mouhamed Niang – known to everyone at the club as Sena – has been a mainstay in Paul Hartley’s team, he knows both Alloa and the division inside out, and he’s hoping to see the side emulate our Cup showing at Rugby Park last Saturday:

“It was a good test for us, we had a good week leading up to the game, the place was buzzing, and I thought we did pretty well. If we had taken a couple of those chances, it might have made a difference, but they are a quality side, and we gave them a few problems.

“We need to take that form into the next thirteen games, they’re massive. In the changing room we all know what we need to do if we’re to make it into the playoffs.”

The midfielder has featured in all but one of our thirty-one league and cup matches this season – he remained on the bench for the win over Hamilton last November – and he says he has thoroughly enjoyed his debut campaign with Cove:

“Personally, I’ve been quite happy with my form and the game time I’ve had. Last year was tough, being out with a serious hamstring injury, but I’ve loved it coming here.

“I knew it might be tough getting into the side, there’s top quality in the midfield, and obviously at the start of the season I was playing at the back. That was frustrating, but I would do anything to help the team, and that just goes with being a versatile player.

“Since Doyley came in, I’ve been in the middle, and that’s where I think I can make a better contribution.”

At Christmas, Cove had opened up an advantage over their play-off rivals, but a winless run since has seen the lead cut, and that is something Sena believes was always likely to happen, given how competitive the division is:

“It’s a tough league, I’ve played in it a few years now, so I know what it’s all about. You can win five matches and you’re up there, slip up in a couple and you’re back out of the playoff positions. It’s about getting consistency, like we did when we had that eleven game unbeaten run, and there’s no reason why we can’t get back to that.

“We just need to focus on ourselves, they’re all going to be big games, tough games, starting from this weekend. I played at Alloa, I know how difficult they can be; we need to play like we did against Killie, take our chances, and get back to keeping clean sheets again.

“It’s going to be about being strong defensively, being harder to beat, a tighter unit all over the pitch. You go one goal down in this league and it can be a long way back. We have shown resilience when we’ve been in that position, like we did at Stirling, but you want to try to avoid that if you can.

“We have a good dressing room, quality players, and a determination to get the job done. We are all aiming to prove that over the next couple of months.”

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