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Our seventh season in the SPFL kicks-off this weekend against familiar opponents in Queen of the South, the Palmerston side again likely to be among our rivals for promotion from League One.

We finished just two points clear of Queens in 24-25, edging them out in the playoff semi-final, before losing narrowly to Airdrieonians.

They began their Premier Sports Cup campaign with a 4-0 beating of Edinburgh City, but lost their last three ties without scoring, while Cove just missed out on qualification in the final game of the group.

Now, both sides are gearing up for what will be a demanding league season, and Paul Hartley believes a positive start is a must:

“You do want to start well, and it’s about how we play on the day. We’re at home, we want those three points, and hopefully we’ll do just that. We will be prepared and ready to go.

“Every game is going to be tough, just like last year, but we know what we’re up against.”

The manager has been happy with the start to the campaign, pre-season and the Premier Sports Cup, and knows his players are going to have to maintain their standards:

“I think it’s been successful in terms of the minutes we’ve got into the players’ legs, some of the performances have been really good, and we were a wee bit unlucky not to go through. I’ve been really pleased with the new signings, it’s not always easy coming into a club, but they’ve all settled, and gelled in well with the rest of the boys.”

The spirit in the dressing room, the bond shared by the players, was evident to everyone around the club last season, and the importance of that cannot be underestimated. Paul sees that again this time round:

“It’s something you can sense straight away, and I saw it on day one of pre-season. The new guys fitted in really well, the boys already here made sure of that, and that can take you a long way, believe me.”

In 2024-25, League One was as tight and competitive as it has ever been, and as he looks ahead to the campaign, the manager believes it could be a very similar story:

“You look at some of the squads and there haven’t been too many changes, but it will take some time for things to settle down allowing you to properly gauge all your opponents, and to predict how the league will pan out.

“As for our ambitions? We want to be competitive in every game, and you do look at the first quarter and try to assess how many points you can get. We sat down with the players this week and set a few targets, but they will stay in the dressing room.”

Fraser Fyvie is fit to return for the first time since limping off in the Premier Sports opener against Spartans, but Declan Glass will be sidelined after suffering a knee injury in the defeat to Queen’s Park last weekend.

The full interview with Paul Hartley can be viewed at the Cove Rangers FC YouTube Channel

Tickets should be purchased in advance at the CRFC website.

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