Arbroath and East Fife play a cup-tie in League 1 this weekend when the two bottom sides meet at Gayfield. A win for the hosts will pull them to within a point of their visitors whereas a win for the Fifers would lift them seven points clear in the race to be automatically dropped through the relegation trapdoor.
Full back Ricky Little spent a miserable first six months at the Red Lichties due to a broken metatarsal however he is now back fighting fit and looking to help Paul Sheerin’s side end his first season with them on a high.
The former Partick Thistle and Queen’s Park defender has now got his maroon and white career up and running and he played a key role in their 4-2 success over Brechin City at Glebe Park last Saturday.
Little said: “That game was a massive one for us, in fact it was the biggest game of the season so far. If we had lost it our confidence would have been extremely low before the next two games which are actually even bigger than the Brechin one.”
“We have given ourselves a real boost in confidence before facing the two sides closest to us, East Fife and then Airdrie. It was not just the result that was massive but from the way we played was terrific. We have been up and down this season but to go to Brechin and score four goals is really good.”
Little was part of the exodus of players from the Hampden side last summer however he left earlier than most as he broke the same metatarsal as the league season came to an end and he missed out on the play-offs against Peterhead.
After agreeing to join Arbroath and working hard with his new team-mates throughout the summer Little’s playing time at his new club got off to a wretched start as he suffered a second break on the same bone just 7 minutes into his debut against Stenhousemuir back in July.
Little said: “On a personal level my fitness is good and it has certainly improved as I could hardly walk 6 months ago. I had to walk about with a moon boot on so I am glad to be back playing. My sharpness and reactions are getting better all the time so I am pleased with how it is going.”
Whilst Little was out for several months there was no gentle step by step rehabilitation programme as he explained: “My fitness has improved by getting thrown back in at the deep end. I played a reserve game on the Wednesday and had 10 minutes in a game against Forfar one Saturday before playing for the full 90 minutes against Rangers at Ibrox on the next Saturday.”
“I said to my Dad that my experience of playing there for Queen’s Park last season would come in handy at some stage again in my career and it did. Mind you I think it was adrenalin that got me through the 90 minutes in front of 45,000 fans.”
Little added: “The opening day of the season at Stenhousemuir was a horrible day for me. If it had happened in pre-season I could have accepted it a bit better but to break it in my first game for Arbroath after doing a full season really left me scunnered.”
“I then had to wait several months for an operation and after thinking I would only be out for a few weeks it turned into months.”
Little was worried about Arbroath going on a strong run and struggling to get his place back and whilst that never happened what did occur was probably worse.
“You are never happy to sit out as at first you get concerned about your place as someone could come in and establish themselves,” said Little before adding, “There is nothing you can do about that but what actually happened to us was even worse as we were struggling to get wins on board and there was nothing I could do to help.”
“But I am back playing now and we have won again and are looking to keep winning. We know that 6 points from our next two league games will really turn things around for us and we are desperate to secure them.”
Arbroath have been going through a transformation since Little was injured at Ochilview as only four of his team-mates that day joined him in starting at Brechin at the weekend.
Little said: “Players have come in and players have left. Steven Milne retiring to join the Police was a real blow as he was a terrific player and his absence was a huge gap in a small squad. Paul McManus has come in to help with the goalscoring as has Kenny Deuchar. He has not played as much as Paul but having someone with his experience about the club has been terrific.”
“Kevin Nicoll came in during January as well and he has been his best player since then. For a guy who was not getting a game in the league below us with Albion Rovers he has been a real find. He adds a lot of dig to our midfield which is probably something we were a bit short of.”
Little flitted between right back and his preferred position at centre half at his previous clubs and he has been in the full back role at Arbroath however there is no complaint with Little saying: “I have played right back in every game since I came back in. When the manager signed me he told me he saw me as a right back but I started to get games at centre half in pre-season. David Banjo can also play at full back but he can move up into midfield as well but to be honest after being out for 6 months I am happy to play anywhere.”
League 1 games see Little trying to keep a couple of his former Queen’s Park colleagues quiet as he advised: “Jamie Longworth is of course playing for Stranraer and I played against Lawrence Shankland last week at East End Park as well. He even had the cheek to score so I will be having words with him about that.”
“He also played against us in a pre-season friendly for Aberdeen and it would be fair to say that full time training has made a good player even better. Jamie’s scoring record speaks for itself and he is guy that thrives on confidence.”
One player that also left the Spiders last summer has progressed beyond Scottish shores as Little said: “As for Andrew Robertson there is not much you can say about him. He did well getting a game so quickly at Dundee United and keeping his place. He never broke stride after leaving us and he has not had time to stop and think about what he has achieved since joining Dundee United.”
“He played with Scotland against Poland on Wednesday which is crazy to think we were team-mates in the Third Division a year ago.”
Whilst Little is delighted that his former team-mate is getting international recognition he is concerned only with domestic safety.
“Despite my injury and Arbroath’s poor run of results I am glad I made the move,” said the 24-year-old before adding: “We are in a tough spot but if we can win the next two games it transforms our season.”
“Winning gives you confidence and it will also make the journey from my Saltcoats home to Perth on a Tuesday and then Saltcoats to Dundee on a Thursday for training pass that bit quicker. It would be great to be coming home on Saturday having secured another win.”
