Brechin boss Darren Dods admits his side are under no illusions about the scale of the task facing them this afternoon at the Glebe when they face league leaders Ayr United.
On paper, there should only be one winner in the top v bottom clash with Ian McCall’s Honest Men having leapfrogged the full-timers of Dunfermline to the summit of League One.
However, Dods and his players go into the game with confidence high after their 1-0 victory in last week’s Angus derby with Forfar at Station Park and the player/manager believes a recent addition from Alloa could have a big impact again against Ayr.
Dods said: “I was absolutely delighted with the win last week, especially after the disappointing defeat the previous weekend against Albion Rovers.
“We worked really hard at Forfar, defended well and hit them on the break.
“I was also really pleased with the contribution of Isaac Layne after joining us on loan from Alloa.
“He has scored a lot of goals for their Under-20s but was struggling to break into their first team with experienced boys like Michael Chopra at the club.
“So we were delighted to get him and he showed against Forfar that he has a lot of pace and strength. He also linked up well with Andy Jackson and set up his goal that won it for us.
“Robert Thomson will miss the Ayr game but should be all right for the following week and Dene Shields is well on the road to recovery.
“So once we have those two back along with Jacko and Isaac, we will have a lot of options and be a big attacking threat.
“We will now look to make it two wins in a row against Ayr but we know it will be incredibly difficult.
“They are top of the league having gone on a long unbeaten run and have a strong squad including two former Brechin boys in Alan Trouten and Gerry McLauchlan.
“However, if we can reproduce the same application and hard work we displayed against Forfar, then we will really give them a game.”