Brechin City manager Ray McKinnon has drawn a line in the sand after a hugely disappointing loss last weekend, and expects his team to bounce back in the Angus derby.
The Glebe Park boss let his players know that their performance against Stranraer wasn’t up to scratch, and he has seen the response he was looking for in training through the week.
“Give them their due,” he said. “They knew they had let themselves down in the first half on Saturday, and they’ve taken it on the chin.
“It was probably our poorest performance in the last 12 games. Second half we came back into it, but first half they were much better than us.
“The players just weren’t thinking properly. But it wasn’t long ago we were seven out of nine, so hopefully we can get back to that sort of form.
“A derby game is a good one to have next. Arbroath like to play football, so it should be a good game.”
McKinnon admitted he would not have predicted that Arbroath would be fighting for their lives at this stage of the season.
“No, I didn’t see that coming,” said “But this has been a much more competitive league this year.
“Obviously that’s got a lot to do with Rangers and Dunfermline being there. But the likes of Stranraer have surprised everybody and I think a lot of clubs have upped their budget.”
Paul McLean and Graham Hay are suspended.
“It’s not ideal to have my right-back and right centre-half out, but we’ve got cover,” McKinnon said.
There was good news, with Alan Trouten taking part in light training on Thursday night. It is, however, too early for him to be considered for selection.
Arbroath suffered a 3-0 defeat at Dunfermline on Tuesday night and remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
Like McKinnon, though, Sheerin has sensed a positive mood among his squad.
He said: “We trained well last night and are ready to go again.
“The players had been showing real heart and desire but I can’t say that for the Dunfermline match. We now need people who are going to stand up and be counted.
“Every game is hard for us just now. We will have to dig deep. Our planning and application must be spot-on.”
Kenny Deuchar will miss the match due to work commitments, while Scott Morrison is a doubt.