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We make the short trip down the coast to Gayfield this weekend for a second meeting of the season with Arbroath.

It is a fixture which has happened on surprisingly few occasions since Cove gained promotion to the SPFL, this being only the sixth encounter between the sides.

We were unbeaten against the Angus side during our Championship campaign, picking up a draw and a narrow victory on our travels south, and Paul Hartley is hoping for a positive outcome again, as we look to recover from last weekend’s defeat to Caley Thistle:

“We spoke to some of the players after that, we got it out of our system, and it has been a good week since.

“You need to get straight back on it, there are going to be a few bumps along the road, it’s that kind of division, and it’s how you respond that really matters. We have some young players, there will be a bit of inconsistency, and it’s up to me and the more experienced boys to help them through.

“We are still in a nice position, and we want to stay there, especially until the turn of the year, and hopefully we can strengthen then for the second half of the season.”

In the earlier meeting at Balmoral, we battled back from 2-0 down to level by the interval, only to throw it away after the break, conceding sloppy goals. Since then, the defence has looked much more solid, and the manager wants that to continue:

“We need to make sure we tighten up; we have to be brave at the back and be ready for the fight. If we can get that right, which we have been doing, we’ll give ourselves a right good chance.

“We’ve actually been good on the road, which has been pleasing, and we want that to continue.”

One player who has stepped up has been top scorer Mitch Megginson, who has netted in our last four matches:

“He’s been excellent since ever I came in here, and he has been in good form of late, thoroughly deserving his player of the month award.

“He looks sharp and bright, and he’s putting a lot of work in as the main striker, but we need to lessen the burden on him, others have to be chipping in with goals too. To be fair, that’s not been an issue, we’re still top scorers in the division, and with the quality we have we will always cause teams problems.”

The weekly jockeying for top spot will mean another unpredictable afternoon with four teams eyeing that up, and Paul wants to see us back at the summit:

“Hopefully it will be us! We are going to a tough venue though, and you have to factor in the conditions, the pitch, and the fact they have been going pretty well since the two boys took over, but if we get the basics right, I have faith in my squad to get the result we want.”

Liam Parker and Arron Darge will again be missing, but the midfielder is expected to return for next Saturday’s visit of Stenhousemuir.

Supporters planning on heading down to Arbroath this weekend can find all the information they need HERE

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