Ian Campbell insists Arbroath ready to pull themselves up table after giving Championship rivals ‘head start’

Arbroath No.2 Ian Campbell is determined his side will pull themselves back up the Championship after giving their rivals a ‘head start’.

The Lichties travel north to face Cove Rangers for a crunch fixture on Saturday.

Both sides sit at the foot of the table with five points apiece.

A victory could see either side jump to seventh, depending on results elsewhere.

The Gayfield side haven’t been able to replicate the performances put in last campaign, with just the one league win so far.

Cove Rangers test

However, the side go into the Cove tie buoyed by the victory over Morton in their last Championship fixture and after seeing off East Fife in the Challenge Cup last weekend.

Campbell believes his side have improved in recent weeks but will face a tough test at the Balmoral Stadium.

“Cove are in the Championship on merit,” he told Courier Sport. “They have our respect but it’s about what we do.

“We have to get back to what we know we are good at. If we do that, we’ll climb the league.

“We are going up there and it will be a massive challenge.

“We’ve given everyone in the league a head start for a lot of different reasons.

“We need to get our team back on the pitch and we will do. We are playing better now.”

Injury worries

Meanwhile, the Angus side are sweating over the fitness of a number of key men ahead the game.

Midfielder Michael McKenna and Dale Hilson picked up knocks last weekend while the defensive pairing of Ricky Little and Tam O’Brien missed out completely.

All will be given to the last moment to assess their fitness.

“We’ve got a couple of injuries,” Campbell said. “There will have to be a few fitness tests on Saturday.

“We’ve had a great week’s training and everyone is buzzing and we’ll have a near-full complement of players to choose from.”

One player who will be in the squad is new signing Scott Bitsindou.

The Congo international joined up with the side on a season-long loan from Livingston on Thursday.

Campbell thanked David Martindale for the midfielder who becomes the fifth player to join the club from Livi in the past two years.

“He’s a very good player to come in to the squad for the weekend,” he said.

“He’s a holding midfielder player – 6ft 4in, very good on the ball and a first-class footballer.

“David was kind enough to give us him out for the season.

“We are still looking to add to the squad but it’s starting to fall in to place.”