Focus purely on getting three points and ignore what is happening elsewhere is the message to Stranraer ahead of a vital trip to Station Park.
Results tomorrow in League Two could go a long way to determining who finishes bottom of the table.
The Blues travel to Forfar looking to pick up three points in their bid to ease any nerves.
Long-serving Scott Robertson called for his team to ignore what was happening at other games and instead concentrate on their own performance.
He said: “We have been saying to the boys that we can only focus on ourselves.
“There is no point in saying ‘if this happens’ or ‘if that happens’.
“If we go and win our games then we will be safe – it is in our hands.
“You are not hoping that somebody else does you a favour without you going and doing what you need to do.
“I would rather we went and won the last two and took it out of the hands of anybody else.
“That has always been the message to the boys.
“It is only us that can get us to where we want to be.
“Don’t be holding anything back or hoping that anybody else does you a favour.
“Be the ones that are being positive.
“Believe that you are the one that can go and change a game for us or go win a game for us to get us over the line.”
It would be fair to say Forfar’s Angus home has not been a happy hunting ground for the Blues.
Strikes from Mark McGuigan and Chris Aitken were enough to give the visitors their last win back in September 2015.
All runs must come to an end and Robertson was hopeful this weekend would see that record improve.
He said: “It would be a nice time to change our record there.
“The way we have played the last couple of weeks – we were away to Spartans and I don’t think our record at that pitch, against Edinburgh City, we maybe only beat them once there.
“I don’t think our record there has been great either but we went and played really, really well last week.
“I think with the players in the team at the moment an artificial pitch probably suits us.
“We’re looking forward to it and if we can keep playing football the way we are playing now then we have nothing to fear going into it.”
Thirty-six-year-old Robertson has made 36 appearances for the Blues this season, taking his career tally to 365.
Unfortunately, he will not be able to add to that as the player/first team coach is forced to focus on the coaching side of his role.
Medial ligament damage has kept him on the sidelines in recent weeks and will more than likely rule him out of the closing few weeks.
He said: “It’s horrible.
“As soon as it happened, I knew straight away it was not good.
“It is one of those things where when you have played for a long time you know injuries.
“Within a couple of seconds of it happening, I knew I was probably going to be out for a couple of weeks.
“I was absolutely gutted, to be honest.
“There’s nothing worse than having to sit and watch and you cannot help.
“I’ll be kicking every ball and just hoping the boys do well.”
Last meeting
Lewis Budinauckas pulled off two impressive saves to keep Forfar Athletic out in the first half at Stair Park last month.
Finlay Allan was the man denied on both occasions. Firstly, when he collected a slack pass from Dylan Forrest and then when Stranraer failed to fully clear a corner.
It took until the 37th minute for Stranraer to really threaten but Marc McCallum was equal to Matty Grant’s placed effort from the edge of the box. The Blues were improved after the restart as Kyle Girvan headed on target while James Dolan’s deflected shot bobbled agonisingly the wrong side of the post.
Stranraer’s chances appeared to be boosted in the second half when Stuart Morrison was shown a second yellow card but the Blues could not find a way through as McCallum denied Grant again.
Stranraer: Budinauckas, Girvan, Ross, McQueen, Ecrepont, Armour (Lang 68), Dolan, Forrest, Fleming, Johnston, Grant.
Not used: Williamson, Miller, Orr and Downie.
Forfar Athletic: McCallum, M Allan, Hutchinson, Munro, Brindley, Morrison, Whatley, Mykyta (Thomson 69), Ross (Mohammed 69), F Allan (Lobban 78), McLean.
Not used: Nditi, Moore, Inglis, Scally and Paris.
Last five meetings
- Stranraer 0 Forfar Athletic 0 at Stair Park on March 2, 2024
- Forfar Athletic 1 Stranraer 1 (M Allan; McDonald) at Station Park on December 2, 2023
- Stranraer 0 Forfar Athletic 2 (Paterson and Skelly) at Stair Park on September 23, 2023
- Stranraer 0 Forfar Athletic 0 at Stair Park on April 8, 2023
- Forfar Athletic 2 Stranraer 1 (Ross and McCluskey; Malcolm) at Station Park on February 4, 2023
Last five games
Stranraer
- DRAW v Dumbarton (H): 0-0
- DRAW v The Spartans (A): 0-0
- LOSS v Clyde (A): 1-0
- DRAW v Bonnyrigg Rose (H): 1-1 (Lang)
- LOSS v East Fife (A): 2-1 (Grant)
Forfar Athletic
- WIN v East Fife (H): 2-1 (McLean x2)
- LOSS v Peterhead (A): 2-1 (Scally)
- LOSS v Dumbarton (H): 0-2
- LOSS v Spartans (A): 1-0
- DRAW v Elgin City (A): 1-1 (Thomson)
Last time out
Stranraer
Lineup v Dumbarton: Budinauckas, Williamson (Ecrepont 78), Ross, McQueen, McIntosh, Armour (Orr 56), Gallagher, Hawkshaw, Miller (Fleming 78), Grant (Gilmartin 78), Lang (Dolan 68).
Not used: Edgar and Downie.
Forfar Athletic
Lineup v East Fife: McCallum, M Allan, Hutchinson, Munro, Nditi (F Allan 73), Brindley, Morrison, Robson, Skelly (Mohammed 62), Scally (Mykyta 61), McLean.
Not used: Thomson, Whatley, Inglis, Ross, Lobban and Paris.
Five facts
1. Former Stranraer full-back Blair Sneddon turns 22 on Saturday. The defender spent time on loan at the Blues from Berwick Rangers earlier this campaign and featured on six occasions. The last of which was a 3-1 win over Bonnyrigg Rose.
2. Ryan Edgar wore 25 when he was named on the bench for last weekend’s goalless draw with Dumbarton. The last player to wear that number was Dylan Dykes in the 2018/19 season. The midfielder made 14 appearances for the Blues.
3. Edgar’s appearance on the bench takes the number of players from Stranraer’s South of Scotland Football League side to have featured in the first team squad to five this season. Carter McKane and Connor Phillips both came off the bench against Kelty Hearts while Liam Clive was an unused substitute against Stenhousemuir. Andy Downie has been a regular on the bench as well.
4. Craig Malcolm scored at Station Park for Stranraer last season on February 4, 2023. He also found the net there almost a decade earlier when he scored on March 2, 2013. The visiting side that day was: Stewart, Kinnaird (Love 57), Staunton (One 75), McKeown, Dunlop, Aitken, Gallagher, Borris (Gribben 51), Winter, Malcolm, Moore. Not used: Wood and Cadwell.
5. One of Stranraer’s most memorable victories at Station Park came in April 2001. Barry Sellars and Liam Keogh had Forfar 2-0 up in the first 18 minutes. That was the way it stayed until just 12 minutes from time. Frazer Wright pulled one back before Neil McGowan levelled with seconds left. There was still time for a hero though and that was David Farrell popping up with a winner.
Admission
You can pay at the gate on arrival at Station Park, but remember to take cash out, as card payments are not accepted.
Pricing is as follows:
- Adults £14
- 65+ £8
- Under 17s £5
Coverage
We’ll be in attendance at Station Park to bring you full coverage of all the action.
Follow live matchday updates on X (formerly Twitter) for the latest news throughout the afternoon.
The manager’s interview will be available on YouTube during the evening, and Club 1870 subscribers can watch the goals before midnight and an exclusive reaction from a player post-match.
Extended highlights will follow on Sunday morning, with full match footage available via Club 1870 on Sunday afternoon.
Photos: Bill McCandlish
