Tam O’Brien knows Arbroath are incredibly lucky to have such loyal backing from their fans as they scrap for Championship survival.
The Lichties faithful are continuing to turn out in big numbers to support their team in their three-way fight with Cove Rangers and Hamilton to stay up.
Around 250 made the 303-mile trip up the A9 to watch Arbroath lose 2-0 to Inverness on Tuesday night.
That came on the back of the club’s biggest home gate in 11 years as they held Championship leaders Dundee at Gayfield in front of 5,563.
And with average home gates up by almost 400 on last term – hovering around the 2,100 mark – O’Brien is in awe of the Arbroath fans.
The Costa del Gayfield was looking glorious at the @ArbroathFC v @DundeeFC clash.
📷 @davidsdronepics pic.twitter.com/OO3TcKp87c
— Ewan Smith (@ewansmithpr) April 9, 2023
“The fans are great for us,” said O’Brien. “They are the 12th man.
“They have been behind us all season and the crowds have grown again on the back of last season.
“We all want to repay them by staying in this league.
“We’d like to thank them for continuing to back us. It’s a long journey up to Inverness on a Tuesday night but we had 250 of them up.
“Hopefully, we can have a good turnout at Raith again on Saturday and send our fans home happy this time.
“I don’t think Arbroath fans would ever turn on our team. They aren’t like that.
Family club
“We are a family club. We are all in it together. They have expectations for us and know what we are capable of.
“Some of our performances haven’t been good at times this year but we are realistic enough to know that can happen as a part-time team.
“If we stay up then it will be a success.
“Football isn’t always way up high. You’ll have your lows in this game too.
“As a family that’s what you do – you stick together and come out of it at the other side.”
Tam O’Brien praises injured team-mate Colin Hamilton
Meanwhile, O’Brien is hoping Arbroath can secure Championship football for injured team-mate Colin Hamilton.
Hammy is out for the rest of the season with a serious hamstring injury, with midfielder Steven Hetherington deputising on the left side of defence.
And O’Brien added: “Hammy has been excellent since I’ve been here and this has been his best season.
“He’s been fantastic for us. He’s solid and reliable and I’m gutted for him that he’s out.
“But Steven has come in and done a good job too and that underlines it is a squad game.
“Now we’ve got to go and not just do it for Hammy but for the team.
“It will be good for him if we can keep the club up.
“But, given the type of guy he is, he’ll be devastated that he can’t play a part in the run-in.”
Conversation