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The team faces a decisive ninety minutes in Dumfries this weekend in the knowledge that a fourth straight defeat could spell the end of our playoff dream.

With our two rivals going head-to-head at New Central Park, something has to give, and if Montrose, currently in fourth, beat Kelty Hearts, it will end their hopes and leave the Links Park side in pole position going into the final game.

Then it will be down to us. A win at Palmerston over Queen of the South will ensure we take the challenge to the last afternoon, while a draw, or Kelty victory, would see us move up into the playoff place should we take the three points.

It is even feasible all three sides could go into matchday thirty-six level on forty-seven points!

Paul Hartley says there is no point in dwelling on all the permutations; we simply have to focus on doing what we need to do:

“It’s been a real mixture of late, some good attacking football and scoring plenty goals, but individual mistakes have cost us, and we need to cut that out. We have to get back to keeping clean sheets.

“Selection problems have been an issue, it’s been difficult, but it’s still there for us and it could yet be a successful campaign.

“Throughout, it’s been about taking it to the final game still in with a chance, and to do so, we have to get a positive result against Queens. That won’t be easy, they have their own battle to deal with, but we go there with a game plan and we want to win the last two matches.

“The players know what’s expected of them, they have the ability, it’s up to them to prove that if we are to achieve our aim. The pressure has been there in recent weeks, but I feel sure they can rise to the challenge, and if we can cut out the errors, we can do what we did last time down there and get the outcome we crave.

“Get that, and it will be a massive boost ahead of next week and give us a real opportunity to secure the playoff place.”

Central defender Josh Kerr admits the last few weeks have been a frustrating time, the side playing some excellent football, but throwing points away due to lapses in concentration:

“We do need to tighten up, but the positive is we’re scoring goals, which is the most difficult part of the game, so we need to keep that up and be more solid at the back.

“There’s been a lot of good stuff the last few weeks, we’ve certainly played worse and won games earlier in the season. The Alloa match last week is a great example, that was a strong performance, and if we’re scoring two goals in a home game, we shouldn’t be getting beat.”

With the race for the playoffs so tight, there have inevitably been twists and turns, and unpredictable results, and Josh admits he’s been working through the various possibilities for weeks now:

“We’ve had so many chances to put ourselves in a strong position, and we need to make that count. With the two other sides playing each other, we have to look after ourselves, and we’ve got to go for it. At this stage of the season, you’ve got to have that ruthless attitude, a must-win mentality.

“More than anything, we need to make sure that the last game at home to Edinburgh means something. Going into that match thinking about what might have been would be horrible; we want it to matter, and we will do everything we can against Queen of the South to make that happen.”

Supporters planning on travelling down to back the team can find all the information they need HERE

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