Arbroath made it a fantastic five wins in a row on Saturday with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Partick Thistle.
That propelled the Angus side into third place, just a point off Raith Rovers and two off Championship leaders Dundee United.
Since losing their opening three games to Dundee United and Queen’s Park (twice), Arbroath have beaten Morton, Ayr United, Inverness, Airdrieonians and Partick.
It’s a remarkable turnaround for Dick Campbell’s side that has also put them on the brink of their best winning streak since 2001.
Victory Saturday’s visitors Inverness on Saturday will take them to six-in-a-row for the first time in 22 years.
Here Courier Sport looks at five talking points behind the Arbroath revival:
Arbroath: Winning streaks since 2001
Arbroath have only gone on a five-game winning run four times in the last two decades.
In fact, that’s a feat they never even managed to achieve two years ago as they came to within two points of winning the Championship.
Crucially, every time they’ve done it they’ve been right in the mix for promotion.
2018
It’s almost five years since they last won five-in-a-row.
In October and November 2018, they beat League One rivals Dumbarton, Stranraer, East Fife, Montrose and Brechin City.
Lichties went on to win the title and have been a permanent fixture in the Championship ever since.
5 in a row!
Today we won our 5th competitive game in a row – the last time we achieved such a run was between 20th October and 17th November 2018 pic.twitter.com/PESFpPqf9g
— Arbroath FC Archive (@ArbArchive) September 23, 2023
2011
In August and September 2011, East Fife, Stirling, Dumbarton, Airdrieonians and Brechin City were all defeated in a Lichties winning streak in Scottish football’s third tier.
Arbroath narrowly missed out on back-to-back promotions that year after a play-off defeat to Dumbarton.
2007
In February and March 2007, Arbroath managed five straight wins over Stenhousemuir, East Fife, Berwick Rangers, Montrose and Elgin City in the bottom tier.
They narrowly missed out on the title to Berwick that year, with Queen’s Park pipping them to promotion via play-offs.
2001
The last time Arbroath managed six successive victories was in 2001 as Clydebank, Stranraer (twice), Queen’s Park, Queen of the South and Stenhousemuir were all defeated.
Arbroath were promoted to the equivalent of the Championship that year.
Togetherness is more than just a word
It’s so easy to brandish buzzwords about without actually backing them up with real substance.
One of the in vogue words in football these days is ‘togetherness.’
It’s a word emblazoned on the Arbroath players’ tunnel and it perfectly sums up the Angus club both on and off the park.
That spirit has been clearly evident on the park in recent weeks and never more so than when they celebrate goals en masse.
Behind the scenes, as Craig Slater recently told Courier Sport, everyone from the the stewards to the office staff to the chairman Mike Caird, make Arbroath a warm, welcoming environment.
A happy place makes for a happy team.
Survival first for Arbroath
Dick Campbell will, quite rightly, take a cautious approach to Arbroath’s current form.
Last year’s last ditch survival made for another successful season but also ensures there will be no complacency at Arbroath.
The quicker they can get to that elusive 40-point tally and secure safety, the better.
A win on Saturday would open up a 14-point gap over bottom club Inverness.
Even after playing a game more than the Highlanders, that’s a fairly formidable cushion over the automatic relegation spot.
Arbroath’s strength has always been upsetting the odds as the underdogs.
And they are thriving now that many wrote them off after a heavy opening day defeat to Dundee United.
There’s something special about this Arbroath squad
GoalPro – 80th minute
It was a 4th goal in the Championship for @Hylton_24 and a double yesterday with this sweet finish after being set up by Jay Bird! pic.twitter.com/5LiZSCC6an
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) September 24, 2023
Despite an inevitable cautious approach to their current situation, Arbroath are not in third place by accident.
They are there on merit.
Their summer transfers, thanks to a combined effort between head of recruitment Barry Sellars, Dick Campbell and assistant Ian Campbell, have been exceptional.
And in contrast to 2021/22, they are all signed players.
Arbroath don’t currently have a player on loan and the form of Aaron Steele, Craig Slater, Jermaine Hylton, Kenan Dunnwald-Turan has been outstanding in recent weeks.
Add in some superb displays from the sidelines from Jay Bird, Leighton McIntosh, Mark Stowe, Ali Adams and Saturday’s debutant Jess Norey and you have quite a squad.
Darren Lyon is yet to feature but will be a crucial squad member.
Arbroath look far more dynamic in attack and have scored 16 goals in five games.
And they are very solid in defence with Derek Gaston now just three clean sheets off equalling the club’s all-time shut-out record.
Don’t forget the Arbroath old guard
Gaston is a player who can now be considered part of the ‘old guard’ at Arbroath.
He’s part of a core group of players who have been central to the success of Lichties in the Championship.
Year-after-year, the likes of Gaston, Colin Hamilton, David Gold, Michael McKenna, Ricky Little, Scott Stewart and Tam O’Brien have been consistently good.
Even last year, in their hour of need, those players stepped up to the plate.
You’d imagine several of them are likely to hang around for testimonials.
Gold has played in 10 out of 11 positions for Arbroath in his nine seasons including goalkeeper.
This year, he has found a new home in the midfield engine room – alongside the superb Slater.
His consistent displays have freed up Michael McKenna to reproduce the level of performances that led to him being named SPFL Championship Player of the Year in 2021/22.
Hammy’s presence off the park has been critical this term, as he recovers from long-term injury.
Skipper O’Brien has led by example, assisted superbly by Little, while Scott Stewart has seamlessly adapted from right midfield to left-back.
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