East Fife dug deep to be victorious against league leaders Livingston last weekend and manager Barry Smith has told his Bayview players that the same approach will be needed when a Stenhousemuir team at the other end of the table visit.
Goals from Jamie Insall and Scott Robinson secured a 2-1 comeback success over the Lions, with Smith saying: “The players showed a lot of character against Livingston.
“It was at times a gutsy and disciplined performance but at other times, particularly in the second half, a performance where we were on the front foot.
“We took the game to them and I am looking for the players to show all those attributes again.
“It is really important after putting so much into getting that win that we do not let our standards drop because we are playing a team at the other end of the table.”
Smith’s side are enjoying their best run of results of the season, with five wins secured in a row and that includes a defeat of Stenhousemuir last month.
The former Dundee, Alloa and Aldershot manager is however taking nothing for granted.
He explained: “We were at Ochilview just before Christmas and had to work really hard for a 1-0 win.
“We played a lot of good football in the first half to get in front but in the second we had to dig in to maintain it. The same level of hard work that I have seen in my first few weeks here will be needed again.”
St Johnstone pair Mark Hurst and Jason Kerr have extended their loan deals. Ryan Goodfellow and Kevin Smith are not yet ready to come back, with Tony Wallace now unavailable for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.
