Cowdenbeath manager Jimmy Nicholl has challenged his side to create some distance between themselves and the Championship drop zone over the next fortnight.
The Blue Brazil are right in the thick of things at the wrong end of the table and sit level with Alloa who they meet next week – in the standings, just three points ahead of bottom club Livingston.
Seventh-placed Dumbarton, who host Cowden this afternoon, are eight points clear of the bottom three, so Nicholl is understandably keen to see his team take full points from their trip west this afternoon.
“It’s not so much about dragging Dumbarton down into it, it’s about us getting away from the bottom three,” he explained.
“That’s the most important thing and that’s what we’re trying to do.
“Dumbarton have been hard to predict and they’ve had some indifferent results.
“They lost 5-1 at home to Livingston but then they go to Falkirk, who have been flying, and get a 3-3 draw, so we’ve got to be wary of them.
“They beat us 3-1 at our place just after Christmas and I wasn’t particularly happy with that so we’ve got to try and make amends.
“We’ve got Dumbarton and Alloa next up and to me they are basically must win games because the programme after that is very tough.
“You’ve got Hearts, Rangers and Hibs after these two games and we know how difficult those games are going to be, so it’s important we take something from the next two fixtures.”
Cowden were routed 5-0 at home by Queen of the South in their last competitive game two weeks ago, although Nicholl took some solace from his team’s first-half performance at least.
“I wasn’t too unhappy at half-time to be honest because we were only 1-0 down and I thought we had been right in the game,” he added.
“We conceded from a set piece, which has been our downfall far too often this season, but I thought we were well in it.
“But then they scored three goals in six minutes and it ripped the stuffing right out of us.
“It was a collapse that shouldn’t have happened, and we’ve got to try and make amends for that.”
Defenders Kenny Adamson and John Armstrong are in contention for a start after their return from injury, while Dean Brett who has been on compassionate leave in recent weeks may also be included in the squad after playing in an Under 20 game during the week.