East Fife look to take their impressive form from the second half of their League Two season into battle against Stenhousemuir tonight even though Gary Naysmith believes his side are underdogs.
The Bayview men took 33 points after the midway point and only Champions Albion Rovers bettered that with 34, however Naysmith insists that the Warriors are the favourites for their play-off semi-final.
The player/manager explained: “When you look at results we are doing better than Stenhousemuir, however you have to be mindful that they are playing in a higher league.
“At the end of last season when we were in League One we faced Clyde in similar circumstances and people expected us to beat them as they were in League Two. Using that same reckoning we are the second favourites to go through.
“The players have been magnificent in the second half of this season and also when it came to getting over the play-off finishing line. We won three out of last four games and all I can ask them to do is play like they have been against Stenhousemuir.”
He added: “We have had Stenhousemuir watched a couple of times and in Paul McMullan they have one of the stars in their league. We will need to keep him in check.”
Naysmith misses out with a calf injury however Liam Smith and Stevie Campbell return.
The Warriors have to find a way to start winning again after six defeats and two draws in their last eight games but their manager Brown Ferguson is telling his men to be upbeat despite their poor run.
Ferguson explained: “This will be a tough game but we will focus on what we can do as opposed to what we have not done. The key message to the players is that we have to move on and forget about what has happened before.
“Form goes out of the window and we are now involved in a two-legged cup tie. I have named my team already and we are ready to go.”