He may be the top scorer in the Championship but Arbroath ace Michael McKenna admits he’s found chances harder to come by in recent weeks.
The 30-year-old enjoyed a scintillating start to the season, netting seven times in his opening seven league games.
The midfielder has seen the initial stream of goals dry up – but that’s not down to a lack of trying or creativity.
It’s down to a change of tactics.
His last goal came nearly a month ago at home to Queen of the South, equalising for the Lichties as they piled on the pressure.
Change of position
McKenna says he may get an earful from Dick Campbell if he doesn’t start finding the net again soon.
“He’s not actually said anything to me – but that could be coming soon,” he joked.
“To be fair, I’ve been playing a lot deeper the last six weeks.
“On Saturday, I was almost playing in front of the back four.
“At the start of the season I was playing just off big Nouble, so I was getting a lot more goal-scoring chances.
“Where I’m playing just now, I might only get the one chance every game, so I need to make sure I take it.”
McKenna will be relishing the opportunity to face Partick this weekend, a side he’s scored against four times in three clashes.
“There seems to be a few teams I like scoring against,” he said.
“It gives you a little bit of confidence going into the game, I might end up finding I get some chances off a set piece.
“The last few times we’ve played Partick, we’ve got a few positive results as well so we’ve got a good record, hopefully we can keep that up.”
Counter attacking
The trip to Firhill could play out differently to the battle they faced against Raith Rovers last weekend.
McKenna believes Partick will have to fly out of the traps to earn a home result, but that could well play into Arbroath’s hands.
“Raith came with a game plan to sit in, so it did make it a bit more difficult,” he explains.
“They sat with five across the back. I think that’s why I’ve been dropping deeper, to get more space on the ball.
“At Firhill, they’ll be looking at it as a game they should win so I’d imagine they’ll come out attacking and that’s where we’re usually at our best; to find some spaces and get them on the counter attack.”