Ayr United boss Lee Bullen has told his troops to roll up their sleeves and prepare for a pitch battle on Saturday.
Bullen leads his side to Gayfield this weekend with the Honest Men still hurting from their 3-1 Ayrshire Derby defeat on Friday night.
And while Bullen reckons a win over Arbroath would be the perfect remedy to Friday’s disappointment, he fully expects Dick Campbell’s Championship high flyers to give them a tough 90 minutes.
He said: “I’m not getting fooled by Arbroath’s recent form because I know they’ll be hurting from that 3-0 defeat to Inverness at the weekend.
“We have to go up there with the mindset that Arbroath are not second in the league for no reason.
“But we are capable of beating them.”
Bullen expects his Honest Men to have to battle the elements at Gayfield, just as much as their opponents on the park.
Gayfield is notorious for swirling winds and crashing spray coming in off the North Sea.
Bullen warned: “It’s another really tough game – one because of the environment, as you don’t know what the weather’s going to be like and two, Arbroath play in a unique style. So we need people to stand up and be able to handle a battering.”
Markus Fjortoft will miss the trip to Arbroath through suspension after the defender’s red card on against Killie on Friday.
Midfielder Alex Kenyon will, however, rejoin the squad after his wife gave birth to a baby girl on Sunday and the club afforded him family time off.
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