SAUCHIE boss Fraser Duncan insists his players will take nothing for granted as they head to face Super League East strugglers Tayport this weekend. 

The Beechwood Park side were left frustrated once again last weekend after their game with St Andrews was called off due to poor weather, but the gaffer says it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as he looks to use the time to heal his injured players. 

Tayport have a new manager since the last time the two clubs met and Sauchie themselves have undergone a number of changes on the pitch, so the manager believes it makes for a totally different encounter this time around. 

Duncan told Advertiser sport: “If anything, we gain a benefit from Saturday because we would’ve had three or four missing due to certain circumstances so that is a bonus for us.

"It gives us another week to get these players back. Tayport is a game we will be expected to go and win because they are struggling at the bottom of the league, but like I keep saying, nothing is ever as simple as that in this league. 

“Tayport have a new manager now in John Ovenstone. I know well and I know he will have them fired up as they look to fight their way out of the mire.

"It is always tough when you face a side who are fighting for their lives at the bottom, but we must do everything we can to go there and get the job done to leave with the three points. 

“We have to battle for every point we get now to try to finish off our season as best we can. It will take everything we have got to get past Tayport and we’re certainly not taking them lightly.

"This will be a totally different game from the last time we met. We have added a bit more to our make up now which makes us harder to beat, but I am sure they added to their squad as well so it should make for a good game.”

 

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The Wee County outfit can go fifth in the table with a win this weekend, but Duncan admits he is a bit worried about their current situation which sees them being a number of games ahead of the teams below him.

He is determined not to let that affect the club’s chances of finishing their season on a high on two fronts. 

He said: “I am a bit wary of the league position at the minute because it is a bit false. We are a number of games ahead of a number of teams and I would worry about getting too many games in front.

"Obviously, it would be a dream situation for us if we could finish the season in that fifth spot, but there is a long way to go at this stage. 

"It may just be a step too far for us at the minute, but the main thing for me is to be in there with something to play for in the last few weeks. We still have the cup coming up soon as well and that is another important one for us. 

"We will do everything to stay in it as long as we possibly can, but I think reaching the quarter finals at the very least is what we need to aim for."

The Beechwood Park boss is happy with the fixture call offs at the moment because it is a chance to get their games played in better weather later in the year, but he has warned his players that they must prepare themselves for a frantic finish to their season. 

Duncan added: “It is difficult to prepare the boys and keep them ticking over when you get spells like this in winter. We are that stage where we always have that doubt on a Friday night at the moment whether or not our games are going to be on. It is that not knowing that is distracting, but I think we have been quite fortunate so far this season compared to previous years. 

“For me, I would rather play games on a nice sunny day later on in the season, but it is just a problem when all the extra games causes some fixture congestion towards the end.

"The boys will need to prepare themselves now for a long hard run-in if the games keep getting called off because it might just get a bit chaotic.”