As if a 4-0 defeat to your local rivals isn’t bad enough, Forfar have now been hit by illness sweeping through their squad.
Station Park manager Gary Bollan will make a late team selection for the long trip to Stranraer when he knows who is well enough to travel and play.
He said: “illness has affected a good number of players in the squad and it will be Saturday morning before we know how many of them will be ready for Stranraer.
“When you add the bumps and bruises that you pick up through a heavy run of games and Gareth Rodger’s suspension it would be fair to say that no-one was encouraging any overly robust challenges at training on Thursday.”
Reflecting on their heavy defeat at Brechin, Bollan said: “The final scoreline was disappointing and we really paid the price for not scoring when we were on top. We had some great openings early on and never took them.
“Goals change games.”
Despite the gap being cut by Brechin to just four points, Bollan is still looking up rather than down.
He said: “What made the result all the more disappointing is that we had built some momentum after defeating Cowdenbeath and Albion Rovers.
“That momentum has not been totally lost and the confidence that those wins brought after such a long wait for a win has also not been lost. One win and we could move to eighth place and that is a good target to aim for just now. Every point is a prisoner for us and we need to battle to get something from Stair Park.”
Iain Campbell could return after a knock however Michael Travis is still out, Michael Dunlop is a major doubt and Rodger is banned.