The Stranraer squad are keen to repay manager Chris Aitken as they look to get the season up and running.
The Blues welcome Elgin City to the Eco Gen Stadium at Stair Park looking for a first three points of the campaign on Saturday.
A home victory would close the gap on the pack of teams above and Tommy Sharp stressed they were determined to get the side moving in the right direction.
The summer signing from Livingston has scored twice since making the switch from West Lothian and came off the bench last weekend against Spartans.
He said: “Obviously, we know the situation we are in.
“It is difficult but we know in ourselves fully that we can bounce back from this.
“There is no doubt about it – we know the group that we have got and we know that the gaffer will keep putting the faith in us.
“We are such a tight knit group that we can already tell all the boys have gelled together extremely well.
“I feel this group has really gelled together and it really is such a positive group.
“It is positive but the situation with where we are in the league, we know we can turn this round, 100 per cent.
“We know it is on us to do it and we want to do this for the gaffer.
“He has been excellent with every single one of us and would help us with anything.
“We want to do the exact same and get us up the league.”
Sharp spent last season with Livingston but also enjoyed a loan spell in the Scottish Lowland Football League with Gala Fairydean Rovers.
There, he played alongside experienced professionals, including former Manchester United and Hibernian midfielder Danny Galbraith and Livingston’s Keaghan Jacobs.
And he feels he has had no issue adjusting to moving into part-time football.
He said: “I got the opportunity at Livingston when I was 19 or 20 and before that I was part-time.
“I was used to that schedule of Tuesday, Thursday and playing on a Saturday.
“I had that already installed in me; it was not like a shock coming back to part-time because that is what I grew up doing.
“When you go full-time you are in that routine of training every single day.
“You are proper professional in your mindset and you need to take that back to part-time.
“When I left Livingston, I have still got that mentality and that mindset of being fully professional, making sure I am eating the right stuff every single day as if you are full-time because you have got to treat it like that if you want to progress in your career.”
Of course, the name ‘Sharp’ is no stranger to the Stair Park faithful.
Tommy’s dad, Lee, was an integral part of the Stranraer squad for a number of years and clocked up more than 200 appearances over two spells.
And the latest member of the Sharp family to pull on the blue shirt was enjoying following in his dad’s footsteps.
He said: “I have heard it all my life about Stranraer.
“He has only ever said great things about the club and loved his time, loved every minute, when he was at the club.
“He is always telling me after games to make sure I go up to the boardroom after the game to check if there are any pictures of him still up.
“He talks so highly about the club and that was also a factor when I got the opportunity to come in.”
Last meeting
A final trip of the season to Borough Briggs for Stranraer brought no points as the hosts picked up the win.
Former Blue Kyle Girvan had already missed a header for the home side before Russell Dingwall sent an impressive header beyond the reach of Josh Lane to break the deadlock.
The second goal was a wonderful solo effort from Dajon Golding, who collected a stray pass near his own box. He beat a string of Stranraer players on his way to slotting a low shot beyond Lane. The visiting number one denied Jack MacIver but the hosts would get their third when Mark Gallagher fired home in the closing stages.
Elgin City: Glavin, Dolzanski, Murray, Cairns, Girvan (Cooper 88), Dingwall, Golding (Cameron 72), Hyde (Gavin 72), Gallagher, Sargent (Fleming 79), MacIver (McDonald 79).
Not used: MacEwan, Fraser, MacDonald and McHale.
Stranraer: Lane, Robertson, Ross, Ecrepont, Reid, Brindley, Dunlop, Russell, Quigg (Wilde 73), Lang (McKnight 46), Edgar (Hilferty 76).
Not used: Kane.
Last five meetings
- Elgin City 3 Stranraer 0 (Dingwall, Golding and Gallagher) at Borough Briggs on April 26, 2025
- Stranraer 1 Elgin City 0 (Grant) at Stair Park on February 15, 2025
- Elgin City 1 Stranraer 0 (Murray) at Borough Briggs on November 2, 2024
- Stranraer 1 Elgin City 1 (Robertson; Murray) at Stair Park on August 24, 2024
- Stranraer 1 Elgin City 2 (Own goal; Ewan and Jeffreys) at Stair Park on March 16, 2024
Last five games
Stranraer
- LOSS v Spartans (H): 0-2
- LOSS v Kelty Hearts (A): 3-0
- LOSS v Stirling Albion (A): 1-0
- WIN v Rangers B (H): 4-1 (Sharp, Stuart, O’Donnell (Pen) and Rough)
- DRAW v Clyde (H): 1-1 (O’Donnell)
Elgin City
- WIN v Stirling Albion (H): 3-0 (Dingwall, Walker and Hester)
- WIN v Cove Rangers (H): 1-0 (Walker)
- DRAW v Clyde (A): 0-0
- WIN v Dundee United B (H): 3-1 (Walker and Hester x2)
- LOSS v Edinburgh City (H): 2-4 (Walker and Murray)
Last time out
Stranraer
Lineup v Spartans: Lane, Reid, Docherty, Dunne, Coll, Stuart (McKnight 64), Dolan (Turay 79), Quigg, McManus (Sharp 79), O’Donnell (Lang 79), Edgar (Rough 32).
Not used: Ecrepont, Russell and Henderson.
Elgin City
Lineup v Stirling Albion: Ritchie, Booth (Ross 87), Murray, Cameron, Ewan, Virtanen, Dingwall (Sargent 58), Spalding (Draper 87), Hester (O’Connor 82), MacIver, Walker (McDonald 82).
Not used: Cooper, McDonnell, Obasoto and McHale.
Ins and outs
Stranraer
Ins: Beejay Coll (St Cadoc’s), James Dolan (Unattached), Evan Dunne (Beith Juniors), Matthew Gillies (Heart of Midlothian, loan), Ewan Henderson (Whitletts Victoria), Ronan Hughes (St Cadoc’s), Lewis Hunter (The Spartans), Josh Lane (Hamilton Academicals, loan), Daniel McManus (St Cadoc’s), Corey O’Donnell (Stenhousemuir), Dom Plank (Heart of Midlothian, loan), Lewis Reid (Queen’s Park, loan made permanent), Scot Rough (Beith Juniors), Tommy Sharp (Livingston), Jordan Stuart (Beith Juniors) and Sallu Turay (Partick Thistle).
Outs: Tomas Brindley (Cumnock Juniors), Adam Cummins (Irvine Meadow), Grant Gallagher (Cumnock Juniors), Matty Grant (Johnstone Burgh), Dean Hawkshaw (Hurlford United), Craig Ross (Airdrieonians), Max Guthrie (Ayr United, end of loan), Sam Kane (Queen’s Park, end of loan), Josh Lane (Hamilton Academical, end of loan) and Scott Robertson (retired).
Elgin City
Ins: Connall Ewan (Ross County), Jack MacIver (Buckie Thistle, loan made permanent), Abimbola Obasato (Angelholms FF), Josh O’Connor (Crusaders), Tom Ritchie (Aberdeen), Miko Virtanen (Alloa Athletic), Josh Walker (Stenhousemuir), Noah McDonnell (Aberdeen, loan), Jamie Mercer (Aberdeen, loan), Dylan Ross (Aberdeen, loan) and Ali Spalding (Arbroath, loan).
Outs: Fin Allen (Buckie Thistle, loan made permanent), Jake Dolzanski (Forfar Athletic), Dajon Golding (Maidstone United), Ryan MacLeman (Forres Mechanics), Daniel Fraser (Rothes, loan), Kyle Fleming (Annan Athletic, end of loan), Aidan Glavin (Kilmarnock, end of loan), Kian Leslie (Kilmarnock, end of loan) and Rory MacEwan (retired).
Five facts
1. Friday marks the 39th birthday of former Stranraer striker David McKenna. The frontman spent the 2013/14 season at Stair Park and scored five goals. However, he was unable to really displace Jamie Longworth or Martin Grehan at the top of the pitch. McKenna, who began his career at St Mirren, would also play for Cowdenbeath, Stirling Albion, Brechin City, East Stirlingshire and Annan Athletic.
2. Stranraer have failed to find the net in their last three games. The last time the club went four without finding the net was in April 2024. The Blues lost 1-0 at Clyde before goalless draws with both Spartans and Dumbarton. Stranraer then lost 2-0 at Forfar Athletic before James Dolan and Ryan Edgar scored in a 2-0 win over Stenhousemuir.
3. Sean Docherty’s sending off last weekend was the first time a Stranraer player has been sent off before half time since Dylan Forrest was sent off against Elgin City in March 2024. The visitors to Stair Park would win 2-1 that day.
4. Matthew Gillies and Dom Plank have joined Stranraer on loan from Heart of Midlothian. Former Stranraer midfielder Angus Beith is head coach of the Tynecastle side’s B team.
5. Former Blue Josh Walker has scored five goals for Elgin City since joining after a brief spell at Stenhousemuir. His first goal in a Stranraer shirt came at Rugby Park. The home side, where Walker had previously played, would win 2-1 on the day. The visiting team was: Scullion, Robertson, Burns, Ross, McIntosh, Millar, Gallagher, Moore (Hawkshaw 48), Josh Walker (Irving 89), Rennie (Woods 46), Yates. Not used: Sonkur, Langan and Jamie Walker.
Admission
Admission in the Eco Gen Stadium at Stair Park is ‘pay at the gate’ only. Season tickets are valid for Saturday’s game.
Away fans can enter the ground from the away turnstile opposite the main stand. This turnstile is cash only.
The following pricing applies:
- Adult – £15
- Concession (over 65) – £10
- Youth (5 to 16) – £5
- Under 5 – FREE
Merchandise
Stranraer FC merchandise is available from the hut outside the main McLeans Taxis Stand, including brand new pin badges and key rings, all three of this season’s kits, hats, a range of new leisurewear, and some great bargains on last season’s items.
Cash and card payments are accepted and we open from 1.30pm.
You can also purchase a range of merchandise online.
Pavilion Bar
Pop into our popular Pavilion Bar outside the away turnstile from 1pm for a pre-match refreshment with fellow fans.
Home, away and neutral supporters are warmly welcomed, and the bar accepts both cash and card.
Or, stop off at the Stranraer FC Fitba’ Bar on North Strand Street in the town centre, which is also open to all.
Coverage
If you’re further afield, follow our live matchday updates on X (formerly Twitter).
The manager’s post-match reaction will be available on YouTube following the game.
Club 1870 subscribers get a first look at the goals from 10pm on Saturday night, along with full match footage.
Extended highlights will be available via YouTube on Sunday, with Brian Martin joined by Cameron Ritchie on commentary.
Photos: Bill McCandlish, Colin Poultney (Collarge Images)
