Stranraer may have lost their last three games and given encouragement to a host of chasing clubs that their grip on a Play-Off place is loosening however there is no panic at Stair Park.
Instead there is only a desire to ensure that a season that has included a win over Ross County, epic cup battles with Hibs and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, as well as being the first club to take something from League 1 champions Rangers, ends as a success and not a failure.
After heavy defeats from Ayr United and Forfar and then a solitary goal loss to the Loons last weekend some may have feared that the Blues were indeed blue however midfielder Andy Stirling is being positive.
Stirling said: “We were all a bit shaken after a bad week where we lost three times. However when you take a step back and look where we are you see a different picture. We are in third place and 6 points clear of Forfar with 7 games to go. You would have bitten someone’s hands off for that at the start of the season.”
“Instead of being in a bad place we are actually in a good place.”
A demanding schedule of 9 games in a 4 week spell had taken its toll on Stephen Aitken’s side, however that has come to an end now and Stirling reckons that could be the catalyst to normal service being resumed.
The 24-year-old said: “We have had a lot of games in a short period of time and that is hard going for a part-time side, especially one where there is lots of travelling involved due to its location. We have players working all day then travelling to and from a game on a Tuesday night. We then put in a bit of training on a Thursday and then back out to play on a Saturday.”
“You do not get the chance to work on fitness or anything like that as you are basically either just playing or recovering from playing.”
Manager Aitken went for a novel approach last week after his side lost 4-0 to a ten man Forfar side with Stirling explaining: “The club took everyone out bowling and for a meal last Thursday night. We all felt that was a great thing to do. We were tired and that showed in the defeat from Forfar just 2 days before.”
“We were a bit more like ourselves when we played Forfar again on the Saturday. They scored early and then camped in a bit and we could not break them down. We did not do enough to win but we did not deserve to lose however there was more of a freshness about us.”
“We were a side that were scoring a lot of goals however that has been missing recently. We will take a huge amount of confidence when it does return and it will.”
The rest and recovery continued this week with Stirling saying: “We have now had a full week to train and re-focus. We are now looking to get back to winning ways. It is the first time since the beginning of February that we have trained on Tuesday and Thursday this week. We feel better prepared for Stenhousemuir.”
“We are also playing them at home and we will enjoy that because we had been strong there this season until our recent blip.”
Stirling wants to play his part in Stranraer getting back on track as he explained: “Overall I am happy with how this season has gone for me. My own form has been okay but I know I could be chipping in with a few goals. However at the moment I will settle for Stranraer winning again and my scoring a few goals as a secondary objective.”
“I missed the first two cup games at the start of the season but I signed on the Friday before the League started. It took a bit of time to get into the starting eleven and stay there.”
Very few outside of Stranraer’s corner of south-west Scotland had even considered a promotion push from Aitken’s side at the start of this season with Stirling saying: “Being in the promotion Play-Offs was only very quietly discussed when I first came in. Everyone had us down as favourites for relegation however we knew that we had a good squad and that we could challenge. But we did not want to make a big deal of it.”
That has now changed with Stirling adding: “Now if you look where we are, it will be a failure if we do not reach the promotion Play-Offs. That is not an easy thing to say when you consider the results and performances we have had in the league as well as in the cups against Ross County, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hibs. We gave them a real fright at Easter Road and Inverness at our place but they would all count for nothing if the season was to end in failure.”
Stirling has more cause than most to welcome the Ochilview side as he was a Warrior earlier in his career although he never showed them the best of his game. Stirling said: “I started off at St. Mirren and went through the youth system there. I played in a few reserve games but left for Stenhousemuir aged 19. I was there for almost a couple of seasons as a player but it was not the best of times for me career wise.”
“I never seemed to play much so it would be nice to be part of a side that puts one over them.”
“The last time we played there we took the lead and I scored it with just 2 minutes to go. I was thinking that it would be the winner and that would have been nice however they popped up with an even later goal to make it 1-1. “
Stirling rose to prominence with East Stirling last season and his form there attracted Aitken to take him to Stranraer.
“I had two spells at East Stirling in-between playing in America and I really enjoyed them,” said Stirling before adding: “Playing at the Shire gave me a love of football again as they were great with me.”
“When I went back to them for the second time after playing in the States I put East Stirling ahead at a game against Rangers at Ibrox - as you do. That was a nice way to comeback.”
The form Stirling has shown this season has sparked talk of a return to being a full time professional and he said: “Everyone would love to be full time and I have never said never to being a full timer again. I would reckon that nearly all part-time players would like to be full time if it could be done.”
“However getting promoted with Stranraer is all that concerns me just now. It would be a terrific substitute to being a full time player having that to focus on. I will worry about next season in a few months time. I just want to make sure we see this one out in a proper way by securing a Play-Off place.”
.png){kind=logo}
