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RAB DOUGLAS: Arbroath return to form would be perfect 70th birthday present for Gayfield dugout duo

Lichties management team Dick and Ian Campbell turned 70 on Tuesday.

Arbroath management duo Dick and Ian Campbell
Arbroath management duo Dick and Ian Campbell

Everybody involved in football has suffered through some difficult bus journeys on the way back from defeats.

Heading home with Arbroath from The New Saints last weekend was right up there.

It was a sore one to take.

We went 1-0 up – and I thought we could have gone 3-0 up.

Instead, they equalised and, after that, we didn’t get ourselves back in the game. They took over.

It was a horrible, long trip back up the road. But while it wasn’t enjoyable for anyone, it also give everyone time to reflect.

We’re not in the business of making excuses at Gayfield.

Yes, we were missing a good few bodies, but the performance wasn’t good enough and that’s all there is to it.

To the players’ credit, they trained well on Monday night – and that’s all you can ask of them.

After results like Saturday’s – and after the run of results we’ve had recently – you want to see boys being professional and attacking things with everything they’ve got.

After all, that’s what it will take to get us moving in the right direction again.

We just need a result. That’s sometimes all it takes.

One result, one performance, can be enough to boost the confidence in the group and get you going on a wee run again.

These players have been in that position before; they put five wins in a row together in August and September.

We then didn’t have a game for about a month and, for some reason, that seems to have had an impact, with results dropping off since then.

Scottish Cup motivation

But we haven’t all of a sudden become a bad team. That doesn’t happen overnight.

The players are well aware of the situation.

By the time Saturday comes around, hopefully we’ll have a few of the players back that we were missing against TNS.

And the prospect of a Scottish Cup tie with Spartans should give the boys all the motivation they need.

A wee run in the cup would be a great thing.

We’re due the fans a performance and a result.

And with the management team celebrating their 70th birthday on Tuesday, a decent showing would be a good present from the lads to them.

Dick and Ian [Campbell] are at an age where most people are thinking about slowing down, taking things easy, but the pair of them come alive at training and on matchdays.

They don’t have 1300-odd games behind them through luck; it’s through hard work and dedication.

That’s the thing about the gaffer and Pink – they’ll be desperate to get their teeth into this game on Saturday and hopefully come away with the right result.

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