Michael McKenna has revealed the extreme measures required to balance a day job and playing part-time football at Arbroath.
McKenna inspired Arbroath with a hand in both goals of a 2-0 win over Ayr United.
That saw Lichties extend their unbeaten run to six games and give their Championship survival hopes a massive boost.
It also brought to an end a run of four successive Friday night clashes with Arbroath drawing two and winning against Queen’s Park and Ayr.
That has seen them move above Hamilton and Cove Rangers in a remarkable upturn in fortunes ahead of Saturday’s visit from title-chasing Dundee.
But the Friday night run hasn’t come without a cost, as electrician McKenna learned with some mad late afternoon dashes from Edinburgh to Arbroath.
“We’ve made Friday night football a good thing,” said McKenna. “It could so easily have been a bad thing for us.
“We’re unbeaten in March with four Fridays on the spin.
“That allowed us to put pressure on Cove and Hamilton but it could have been the other way round.
“They could have had a lift from seeing us lose these games but now the pressure is on them.
“There’s no doubt that we’ve had a tough schedule.
'It's a goal of outstanding quality' 👏
David Gold doubles Arbroath's advantage!
⚽️ Arbroath 2-0 Ayr United #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/aqDJOUmFGH
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) March 31, 2023
“As a part-time team playing every Friday is hard going.
“We may not have physical jobs but we can be rushing about to finish our work then dashing up the road.
“Before the Ayr game, I was 15 minutes late for my pick-up.
“It takes two hours to get here, for some it’s longer.
“I was so rushed that I had to eat my dinner in the shower. I scooped it into my mouth and left.
“Fridays are difficult but you’ll never catch us making excuses. We’ve been immense lately.”
Michael McKenna aims to pile pressure on relegation rivals
🏠 Back at home this Saturday!
See you there!
Arbroath – https://t.co/zlE0phPsjG
Dundee – https://t.co/f6ZPxJsYUW pic.twitter.com/HS9VP7AiJL
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) April 3, 2023
McKenna knows it will be an incredibly difficult task to stop Dundee’s title charge in its’ tracks on Saturday.
Dundee swept Hamilton aside 7-0 last week.
But in all three meetings between the sides this term, Arbroath have competed well.
They came close in the season opener before two late goals from Zach Robinson and Josh Mulligan sealed a 4-2 win for Dark Blues.
They then drew 1-1 at Gayfield before Arbroath claimed their own 4-2 win in Dundee – with McKenna on the scoresheet.
Lichties have six games left and will host both Cove and Hamilton in two of their final three matches.
And McKenna added: “I said a few weeks ago that we needed to start winning.
“We had to capitalise on our performances.
“With Cove and Hamilton losing it can lead you into a false sense of security. You can’t rely on it.
“But now the pressure is on them.
“We don’t want to be going into Cove or Hamilton games relying on a win to stay up. We want that pressure on them.”
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