Dumbarton meet Falkirk at the Bet Butler Stadium on Saturday, live on BBC ALBA at 5.30pm, with both sides in good form ahead of the televised game.
The Sons are sixth in the table, one place and four points behind the Bairns, and manager Ian Murray is hoping his side can make home advantage count this weekend.
He said: “It is two wins in a row but three wins out of four, which is a great spell for us. It was really important to get some points on the board after a tough run of games.
“At the start of the season you set your objectives and we thought we would get more points in this second quarter than the first due to the nature of the fixtures. The nine points we have picked up recently not only have us moving up the table but have helped us move closer to that target.
“We seem to have a run of fixtures against the sides chasing promotion and then a run against the sides with other ambitions. You look to pick something up against the promotion-chasing sides and then win your games against the others and we are doing not too badly at that.
“We are a team who are looking for a top-half finish - when you consider we have only lost to a side from outwith the top four once, and that was on the opening day of the season, then we should be aiming there.
“I do not view it as the ‘big three’ anymore of Hearts, Rangers and Hibs as Queen of the South have turned it into the ‘big four’. We have found it really tough against them in recent games and I think they will stay there all season.”
Things can change quickly in the Championship and Murray is delighted how his squad have climbed the table in recent weeks.
He said: “We were one down to Livingston at half-time last month and Cowdenbeath were winning against Raith Rovers so we were sitting bottom of the table at that time. We said to the players that we faced a fight on our hands to turn our season around and they responded magnificently.
“By full-time at Livingston we were sitting seventh as we came back to win, and so did Raith. That win gave us a boost and we have added wins over Alloa and Raith since then which has moved us up another place. Getting a good result against Falkirk would help us get closer to that target.”
Dumbarton’s last win came with a late penalty from Scott Agnew that saw off Raith Rovers 2-1, with Murray saying: “I was not too concerned when I saw Scott stepping up as he is excellent for us at set-plays. He had also scored a terrific goal earlier in the game so I knew his confidence would be good.”
As for facing the Bairns, Murray added: “Falkirk are on a good run as well and beating Hibs recently will have given them a huge lift. We have done well against them in recent seasons but this will be another tough game. It is a late kick-off and live on TV so it is a bit different for but hopefully everyone will enjoy it.”
Craig Stewart
