It’s a big afternoon for Stirling Albion’s League Two title bid at Dumbarton on Saturday – but manager Darren Young is keeping his players fully focused on the task at hand.
The Binos can cut the gap to the home side at the summit to just a single point with victory, but face a stiff test against a side unbeaten in all competitions since a 6-0 defeat at Forthbank in early October.
However, Dumbarton prevailed in the sides’ first meeting at the Rock on the opening day of the season, when Declan Byrne’s double inside the opening five minutes of the game was enough to see off shell-shocked Albion.
Young knows his squad needs no reminder of the magnitude of the game, but insists no trophies are handed out in January.
The gaffer said: “It’s a massive game obviously, but that will take care of itself and the players will not need any more motivation.
“A lot can still change at this point in the season, but it’s good to be up there and hopefully we can stay up there.
“It’s just a normal game for us and there’s still a long way to go, nothing will be won or lost as a result of the match on Saturday.
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“A lot has changed since the last game, they have been on a run and the onus will be on us to take them down. They will be favourites for the game and are in a good position, but we can take confidence from how well we played against them last time.
“If we can put on a good performance then that’s great, but whether it’s a great performance or a terrible one, the main thing is to get the three points.”
The Albion manager is hopeful of adding to his squad before
kick-off on Saturday and says there are only one or two concerns in his outfit ahead of travelling to the Rock.
The Binos’ top performances of late have seen rocketing attendances, with the Hogmanay fixture bringing a healthy 935 through the doors for the derby with Stenhousemuir.
Young expects a noisy travelling support through for the game and is aiming for his troops to put on a show to send them up the road happy.
“In the last three games particularly, you can see the crowds are coming back and that’s great for both the club and for the city”, Young added.
“That’s all down to the players and the performances they have been putting in so hopefully we can continue that.
“We know there will be a big travelling support and they will be noisy, so it’s up to us to give them something to shout about.”
Kick off at the Dumbarton Football Stadium is at 3pm.
