Banks o’ Dee manager Jamie Watt has challenged his players to turn Spain Park into a fortress to boost our chances of competing in the Breedon Highland League this season.

We are back at our home base this Saturday, 3pm, as we entertain Keith looking to bounce back from last weekend’s 3-0 loss away to table leaders Brora Rangers.

The fact we have yet to lose in the league at Spain Park is something Jamie sees as a huge positive as we prepare to take on the Maroons.

He said: “You need to be strong at home to have any hope of doing well in the Highland League.

“We are the only side with an artificial pitch and that is something we should be looking to take advantage of.

“It suits the way we like to play the game and the players are well used to things like the different way the ball bounces or runs at times.

“The players were actually disappointed we only managed to draw with Nairn County in our opening league game at Spain Park.

“I put that down to a bit of extra nerves because it was our first ever fixture at Highland League level.

“We were much better when we beat Huntly 5-2.

“There were still a few nervy moments, but we then made a tactical switch and could have won that game by a lot more.

“It’s up to the players to match those standards again because Keith have always been among the stronger sides at Highland League level.

“They are well capable of taking advantage if we aren’t right on top of our game from the first whistle.

“We will certainly need to play a lot better than we did up at Brora.

“I accept we were a wee bit stretched for players because of injuries, but we should still have been able to do some of the basics a lot better than we did.

“That’s all in the past now though, the task in front of the players is to show they can bounce back from defeats, something they weren’t asked to do too often when we were still a Junior club.”

Jamie is hoping summer signing Neil Gauld will fit enough to make his first league start after having been troubled by a groin injury since joining us from Inverurie Locos. The 35-year-old striker netted a club record 286 goals for the Railwaymen before making the switch to Spain Park.

Jamie said: “It would be great to have Neil involved because he’s one of the best strikers to have ever graced the Highland League.

“He’s made it clear he is hungry for more goals and having someone of his ability and experience in the squad will help the younger lads who are getting their first taste of football at this level.”

Dean Lawrie and Rob Armstrong are available, but veteran midfielder Paul Lawson will sit out the Keith game because of a hamstring strain.

Jamie also revealed good news about midfielder Michael Philipson, who has been sidelined since suffering a leg break in February.

“Michael has done some light training, which we are all delighted about,” said Jamie.

“He’s still a good bit away from actually playing, but he’s making progress and we are hopeful Michael will be able to come back into contention over the next few weeks.”

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