Rutherglen Glencairn co-boss Joe Pryce says his side must shake off their ‘draw specialist’ tag and power their way back to the top of the West of Scotland First Division.
Pryce’s side were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Cumbernauld United on Saturday, their fourth stalemate in five games, with Roan Fitzpatrick’s 19th-minute opener cancelled out by Thomas Horn early in the second half.
That leaves Glens fourth on 27 points after 15 games, three behind leaders St Roch’s, but with a game in hand.
They’re also two off Renfrew in third, with a game in hand, though second-placed Arthurlie are also on 29 points, after 12 games.
Pryce said: “It is frustrating. We just have to try and turn these draws into wins, and we’re not far off it, but it’s just turning these one points into three, because that’s crucial.
“You see how tight the league is; on Saturday there were five games in our division and four of them were draws.
“It’s a really tight division and any team that can go on a good run of four or five victories will certainly go a long way to getting themselves promoted. We’ve got to make sure that’s what we do.
“We’re at the halfway point, we’re still in the hunt, but there will be a lot of twists and turns still to come.
“There’s a long way to go in this league, and you can see how tight it is – every team can beat everybody, every team can take points off of each other.”
Glens continue their promotion quest at ninth-placed Kilbirnie Ladeside on Saturday and Pryce is expecting another test.
He said: “Kilbirnie are a good side, with some good players, especially up front.
“We’re going to have to be on our guard. It’s always a tough place to go. We managed to sneak a win there last year, 1-0, and we know it’s going to be every bit as tight.
“We know it’s going to be a difficult ask, but we’re going there looking for three points and we’ll give it our best shot.”
Pryce missed out on a defender, and will continue his search.
He said: “You say you’re happy with what you’ve got but if something comes along that’s going to improve your squad and your chances, you’re going to grab it.”