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As the season enters the home straight, with just five matches remaining to clinch a playoff place, Paul Hartley is having to patch up his squad for the run-in.

A long, hard campaign has taken its toll with a number of the boys playing through the pain barrier, and the manager having been able to list just three or four outfield players on the bench in recent weeks.

Matty Shiels has missed the last three games, Blair Yule has been out for over a month, and both keepers, Nick Suman and Balint Demus, have had spells on the sidelines. Others have had sporadic absences, most recently Mitch Megginson with a groin problem, and top scorer Rumarn Burrell limped from the pitch before half-time last weekend.

Mitch will be missing against Falkirk with Rumarn, Arron Darge and Josh Kerr all facing late fitness tests, while a number of other players have also been on the treatment table this week.

The captain’s injury meant a rare start for Kyle Connell against Stirling Albion, just his fourth in League One, and the young striker says he is determined to grasp his opportunity:

“It was good to get the chance against Stirling, I’ve had to bide my time this season with both the guys playing well, and Rumarn being on fire, so I enjoyed it, and it was a good win for the team.

“I did try to claim the fourth one! But it was obviously an own goal, and it was nice to see it going in.

“You always have to do your part for the team, you have to work hard and hope you get the rewards.”

Kyle has made twenty-two substitute appearances in the league this season, quite often getting no more than ten or twenty minutes on the park, and he admits that can make it difficult to make a real impression:

“It’s not easy, but you just have to come on, do your bit, and try to see the game out. The aim is to try to affect things and hope you get more minutes the next week. You just have to be ready, work hard in training, and push the other strikers.

“I’m a pretty positive guy, and that helps, but you do obviously have your down times too. The important thing is to put them to one side and do what you can to help the boys. It’s a very tight-knit group here, we spend a lot of time together outwith the football and enjoy each other’s company. It’s definitely one of the best changing rooms I’ve been in.

“Five games left, we just need to try to win as many games as we can and hope the other teams drop points. Everyone is under pressure, it’s how you deal with that, and it’s definitely something you can use to push you on. That’s what we need to do during the run-in.”

Given the fitness concerns, the players have had a light week in training, Paul Hartley having to rely on video work to help prepare them for the challenge of taking on the champions. But he says despite the casualty toll, he has full belief his side can achieve what would be a huge result:

“The squad is really thin, we are low on numbers, so we really need everyone to make a contribution.

“Falkirk are the champions, they’ve been outstanding this season, so we will need a strong mentality and a good game plan to try to stop them.

“At this stage, every point can be valuable. Alloa and Montrose are under pressure in the same way we are, so we just have to focus on our own business, do what we can, and concentrate on that. We know where we are and it’s all down to picking up as much as we can before the 5^th of May.

“Not knowing who is going to be available this weekend doesn’t help, so I’ve had to look at a few different options as to how we approach it, but those who do play will be fully determined to get what could be a massive result for us.”

Fans are reminded the match at the Falkirk Stadium is a 5.30pm kick-off with all the ticket information available HERE. Cove Rangers supporters should select the NF section of the stadium.

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