The Warriors take a break from their league campaign as we make the long trip north on Tuesday night to Elgin City in the SPFL Trust Trophy.
Performances have been poor for Stenhousemuir following a positive Premier Sports Cup Campaign. 1 win in 4 with 3 consecutive losses has saw The Warriors tumble to the bottom of the table.
The hosts are also on 3 points. However, they’ve yet to win a league match following 3 draws and 1 loss.
A break from the league maybe just what the doctor ordered for a Stenhousemuir side struggling on confidence.
Obviously the quick turnaround in matches doesn’t allow for the usual prep for matches, and Warriors TV caught up with Stephen Swift on how the team have went about preparing for this cup match.
“It’s difficult to get prepped. We’ve got a plenty of information on Elgin City from the analyst boys, I think they’ve done a tremendous job since the start of the season ensuring that we’re really well prepped, even though it might not seem it.
“But, we’re really well prepped and it’s probably the best time to have a game so that we can get the hangover out of our system with how we’ve been playing. However, having said that, we just need to go into Tuesday’s game as a chance to bounce back and revitalise our season.”
Without the pressure of league position to worry about on Tuesday, would it be a chance for the management team to stick with their tactics, or try a new approach in game where, perhaps, the performance is more important than the result.
“It does give us an opportunity to perhaps try and take a different approach. There’s been some things in our minds that we’ve not been quite happy about. It also means that we can try other players that have maybe been in the wings and give them an opportunity to stake a claim.
“So, with all that, hopefully we come up with a few answers after Tuesday night.”
One thing that Swifty has been sure about was his core squad of 19 players was strong enough to achieve the club’s goals for the season. Having started the season poorly, we asked if there were any changes to that thought process and whether any squad additions could be the answer.
“The performance and the results haven’t been great, but I believe in this group 100%. We will bounce back and I’m 100% confident. We’re too good a team, and too good players in fact, but we’re not looking a good team at the moment. I totally believe that we can get the formula right and we’ll move forward.
“We’ve got a target for the first quarter and we’ve still got a good chance to achieving that, though we’ll need to go on a very good run to achieve it.
“But hopefully we can achieve it, starting on Tuesday night and giving us a good result to take into Saturday at Forfar.”
Warriors TV also took the chance to have a chat with Club Captain, Sean Crighton, who spent two seasons with the Highland side.
“I really enjoyed my time up north. I had Ross Jack as manager, then he left and Barry Wilson came in and from there, I moved on to Morton. But they were a great club and they looked after us. To be fair, we had a great team spirit up there even though most of the boys were split with the boys from Glasgow and the boys from up north. But I’ve not got a bad word to say about the club, they’re a really good club, but I just hope that we can get up there and get into the next round of the cup.”
Tuesday matches can prove difficult for part time players to manage, and we asked the captain on how the players prepare going straight from 1 match, into the next.
“I think, for us at the moment, a game is probably the best thing that can happen to us, with the recent form and the way that things are going just now. We will need to bounce back and I know that the manager will look to freshen things up and probably rightly so. He’ll maybe give everyone a wee kick and try and get us through to the next round. We’re under no illusions that it’s going to be difficult.
“But, for part time players, it’s not ideal. I’m lucky enough that my job is in football so if I speak to boss at Hamilton, they’ll be ok with me taking the day off on Tuesday to make sure that I’m rested up. But some others don’t get that luxury, so some boys may come straight from work.
“But for us, what is important is having this game. It’s not ideal that it’s Elgin away, but at the end of the day, we need to get on with it. Maybe the team bus journey and a wee bit of bonding may help us on the way up there as well with things going so low at the moment.
“We’ve got to approach this game and try and get through to the next round of the cup to help us get the feel good factor back and help us get ready for the Forfar game on Saturday.”
Swifty has a full squad to choose from following Dan Higgins 1 match suspension.
MATCHDAY INFORMATION
Kick-off: 7.45pm
Match Entry: Tickets are £5 for all and can be purchased via the FanBase app here.
Getting There: Click here for details of how to get to Borough Briggs by train or car. There’s no supporter’s bus for this match.
PPV: This match is live on Elgin City TV and you can watch for just £5 here.
Referee: Alex Shepherd
