Arbroath remain at the foot of the Championship after losing their third successive league match on Saturday.
Lichties crashed to a 1-0 defeat at home to Queen’s Park. despite a battling display against the league leaders.
That came on the back of losses to Dundee United and Queen’s Park away and leaves Campbell’s men chasing the pack.
Courier Sport was at Gayfield on Saturday and here are five talking points from the game:
Lessons learned but Arbroath still pointless after Queen’s Park loss
If Arbroath had walked away with a point from Queen’s Park’s visit to Gayfield no-one could have complained.
This was a hard-fought contest, with neither side in commanding form.
If you forget about the result for a moment, the performance was a definite step-up from Arbroath’s 90 minutes at Queen’s Park.
In Glasgow, Arbroath allowed Queen’s Park to dominate.
Spiders tangled the Arbroath defence in their web of trickery, with Dom Thomas pulling the strings.
But Dick Campbell did his homework and urged his players to get much tighter with their opponents.
Aaron Steele, in particular, looked the part against Thomas.
He didn’t give a player described by Campbell as ‘the best in the Championship’ a minute.
The gameplan, almost worked, and this was definitely closer to what Lichties fans would have described as being ‘Arbroath DNA.’
Ultimately, though, hard work isn’t always enough and Queen’s Park ran away with the points.
Arbroath have time to turn it around but can’t afford clock to tick
It’s important to remember we are only three games into the Championship.
It’s not time for Arbroath to panic yet.
But the one thing they do need to do – and are working around the clock on – is make a couple more moves in the transfer market.
The top priority is a left-sided defender as Colin Hamilton is likely to be out until October.
Scott Stewart has turned in two very solid recent displays on the left side of defence.
But he’s a right midfielder who could be far more effective for Arbroath in a position he’s more accustomed to.
Dick Campbell tried to sign Aberdeen’s Kieran Ngwenya on loan but was beaten to his signature by Partick Thistle.
The transfer window, for permanent deals at least, closes a week on Friday but Campbell would be keen to get someone in before the trip to Morton on Saturday.
Cappielow is a happy hunting ground for Arbroath
Records are made to be broken but it would be helpful if Arbroath’s rich vein of form against Morton continued on Saturday.
In their last 12 meetings, Morton have failed to beat Arbroath once.
Arbroath have also won 2-1 on their last two visits to Cappielow and are more than capable of doing the same again on Saturday.
To do so they need to add a cutting edge to their battling performance on Saturday.
Michael McKenna injury sweat
There are many key players in the Arbroath squad who have been pivotal to their successful five-year spell in the Championship.
Michael McKenna is one of them and was named Championship Player of the Year in 2022.
It’s often the case that if McKenna is on form, then so too are Arbroath and he turned in the best 45 minutes of his season on Saturday.
What a season @Mikey_211991 is having! 🔥
9⃣ #cinchChamp goals for the @ArbroathFC attacker 👀 pic.twitter.com/eWKjjsYZBH
— SPFL (@spfl) October 27, 2021
Then injury struck.
McKenna was wincing with pain as he held onto his ribs. A battler, McKenna asked for time to heal before the break but his race was run and he was subbed at half-time.
He will have scans to discover the full extent of the injury and Arbroath will be praying that it’s not a serious injury to their midfield talisman.
David Gold is so valuable to Arbroath
It would be unfair not to single out David Gold for his contribution on Saturday.
Gold has played almost every position for Arbroath during his time at Gayfield – including in goal – and never lets them down.
His hard work ethic and selfless attitude is exactly what Lichties need in their hour of need.
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