Arbroath manager Dick Campbell has taken heart from recent performances even though he thought they deserved more points.
The Lichties have just come through an extremely demanding set of three fixtures against Dundee, Ayr and Dundee United.
Campbell’s men drew 1-1 with the Dark Blues at Gayfield, recorded the same scoreline against the Honest Men down at Somerset Park and then lost by the only goal of the game to the runaway Championship leaders last Saturday.
After every one of those contests the Arbroath players were praised for how well they played but the end result was that they took only two points from the hat-trick of matches.
That has left Campbell pondering what might have been but he has still been extremely pleased with the fitness and form of his part-time players.
The Gayfield gaffer, who takes his side south to Dumfries to face Queen of the South this afternoon, said: “To come out of that set of games with just a couple of points is frustrating.
“It could and probably should have been a lot better.
“We could have beaten Dundee here, definitely should have beaten Ayr down at their place and then I think we were worthy of a point against a very strong United team.
“By my reckoning, those two points could easily have been seven out of nine.
“What I have to do, though, is look at how we performed in every one of those games and take encouragement from that.
“We now have a chance to go down to Dumfries and get a result in what will be another very difficult match.
“If we can win the game then that will have us looking pretty good after the first half of the season.
“I will happily admit that we are ahead of where I thought we would be at this stage and if we finish with a couple of teams below us by the end of the season then I will be a very happy man.”
The Lichties will be along similar lines to the team that started against the Tangerines last Saturday, with Campbell reporting no fresh injuries.
