Arbroath chairman Mike Caird has urged the fans to make ‘one final push’ in Saturday’s survival showdown with Cove Rangers.
A Lichties win will secure their Championship status on Saturday – if Hamilton fail to collect at least four points from their games with Inverness and Partick Thistle.
And Arbroath have called on their fans to ‘make it a sea of maroon, all aroon’ by opening up Gayfield to home fans.
Cove will occupy two sections of the Coelbrew Main Stand. Both the Harbour end and Pleasureland section will be available to Arbroath.
And Lichties are hoping the significance of the game will entice a bigger home support than the 2,500 who turned out to support Arbroath against Dundee recently.
The Costa del Gayfield was looking glorious at the @ArbroathFC v @DundeeFC clash.
📷 @davidsdronepics pic.twitter.com/OO3TcKp87c
— Ewan Smith (@ewansmithpr) April 9, 2023
“We want as many Arbroath fans at Gayfield as possible,” said Caird.
“This is a huge game. It’s our biggest game of the season so far and we need their backing.
“We’re aiming to stay in the Championship. A win against Cove would be a big step towards achieving that goal.
“Our fans have stuck by us all season and it was fantastic to see so many at the Dundee game.
“A lot is being made of the big Dundee support that day but there were still over 2,500 Arbroath fans in the crowd.
“Year-on-year, our home gate has increased as we’ve broken our season tickets sales record.
“That makes such a big difference to the players. They get a huge lift running out to see so many Arbroath fans inside Gayfield.”
Mike Caird discusses decision to open up Pleasureland end to Arbroath fans
Lichties have made the popular decision to unlock the gates to the entire terrace for home fans.
That means Arbroath fans will be housed in both the harbour end and Pleasureland side of Gayfield and can switch ends at half-time.
Average gates are now up to 2,097 – an increase of almost 400 on last year.
And Arbroath could move into the top four for Championship gates this term with 2,000+ turnouts in their final two home games with Cove and Hamilton.
Caird added: “We know how much our fans love switching ends at Gayfield.
“Traditionally, that was something they’ve always done but it’s not always possible when you have bigger crowds in the Championship.
“We have a duty to ensure the safety of all supporters and have to assess it on a game-by-game basis.
Arbroath vs @CoveRangersFC Supporter Info
Cove Rangers Supporters will enter via Turnstile 1 and will be housed in Section A + B of the CoelBrew Main Stand.
Arbroath Supporters will enter via Turnstiles 1 and 2
No Pay at the Gate / Online tickets
➡️https://t.co/2nPMjYyrxl pic.twitter.com/LKuFEJCmap
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) April 17, 2023
“For the Cove game we have calculated that sections A & B of the stand will be sufficient to house the away support.
“That allows us to open up the terrace for the home fans.
“Let’s hope we can take advantage of it by getting as many people inside our ground as possible to roar the team on.”
Conversation