Dalbeattie Star boss Ritchie Maxwell has challenged his players to make a fast start against Rothes in the Scottish Cup on Saturday.
In the first round, Star needed a replay to defeat Newtongrange Star and were behind at half-time in both games.
And Maxwell believes a similarly poor start against the team lying third in the Highland League could prove costly.
He said: “I’ve said to the boys we’d had two slow starts against Newtongrange and needed to fight back but I don’t think we can afford to be in that position this time round. We need to make sure we start the game strongly and properly.
“It’s a great chance if we can get through this round as then the Championship teams come in, so it’s a great opportunity for the club and we need to make sure we give ourselves the best opportunity to progress.
“Rothes have had a superb start to the season. They’ve only had one defeat in the league and already won one or two trophies.
“They’re going to come down here full of confidence so we need to make sure we start the game properly.”
Star had no game last weekend but did get in some match practice on Monday night when they faced Queen of the South’s reserves.
The Islecroft side ran out 3-1 winners and it was also a chance to get more match practice for goalie Luke Holt who has recently arrived on loan from Falkirk.
Maxwell said: “He’s a very good goalkeeper, his distribution is excellent.
“Darren Holt wanted to go out and get game time so we’re letting him go out and have brought Luke in as a replacement.
“It’s up to him to fight for the number one jersey over the rest of the season and from what we’ve seen of him so far he’s very good.
“Darren has a few clubs that are interested so he’s weighing it up to make sure he goes to the right one. It’s his choice, as long as he goes out and plays that’s what we’re looking for.
“After having Saturday off, Monday was a good opportunity to get game time for the boys. We managed to rotate the team so everyone was able to get 60 minutes.
“Some of the boys who missed out against Broomhill were able to get game time as well which is good in the build up to the Scottish Cup.
“We’re always grateful to Queens that they’re pretty amenable to picking up games when we need them. It’s good we have that kind of connection and can arrange games like this.
“They’re always a really good work out. The young boys that play always give us a good game and it’s beneficial for us, especially with that free week.”
Star will have almost a full squad to pick from with Lee Wells and Lewis Dunn the only absentees.
They are likely to be out for the rest of the season.
