Cowdenbeath manager Jimmy Nicholl maintains his side have what it takes to slow Hearts’ march to the Championship title this afternoon and boost their own survival hopes in the process.
For a team currently sitting in the bottom two, a trip to Tynecastle to face a team 20 points clear at the top would on the face of it be a tremendously daunting prospect.
But Nicholl is convinced that his Blue Brazil can pose the Jambos a few problems today if they are on their game.
Cowden’s last outing at Tynecastle ended 5-1 in favour of the home side, although the Northern Irishman felt the outcome should have been a lot closer.
“We were 1-1 at half-time, we were doing well in the game and we decided to be a bit more positive and go 3-5-2, but Hearts stepped up their game in the second half,” he explained.
“We ended up losing 5-1 and people were asking why we went gung ho but what else are you supposed to do?
“There’s no point going to places like Tynecastle and trying to soak up pressure because that doesn’t work, so we thought it would be best to have a go.
“You can either be extra cautious or try and press teams like Hearts to try and upset their rhythm, so I’ve got to decide which one I go with on Saturday.
“But I’m always confident we can go anywhere and get a result, and it’s the same this weekend.
“You get things off your chest on the Saturday after a defeat and then you get the players in training and have a working week and focus on the next game.
“I watch them train hard, I’ve watched them use the ball really well and it makes you think: ‘How are these players in the situation they are in?’
“But we’ve got to start putting it all together on a Saturday because we haven’t won enough games of football.
“It’s as simple as that.
“I believe they can do it and I believe we’ll be OK, I just need to be looking at a better consistency of performance.”
Cowden suffered a disappointing loss to fellow strugglers Alloa last weekend which landed them back in the bottom two.
And with games against each of the top four to come in March, including today’s encounter in Edinburgh, points could well be difficult to come by for Nicholl’s side over the next few weeks.
Colin Marshall will definitely miss out today with a hamstring problem, although Darren Brownlie and Declan Hughes will be given late fitness tests.
While Cowden head across the Forth confident of causing an upset, Nicholl admits he hasn’t failed to be impressed by the form of today’s hosts.
“They’ve got everything going for them and the crucial thing is that they are not losing games,” he concluded.
“It must be very pleasing for Robbie Neilson and he’s got them playing very well.
“Even if they are not playing well they are finding a way to win games and it’s a great place to be in if you can turn around at 4.45pm and say ‘we didn’t play well but we won that’.”