Jeanfield Swifts are out to give a true account of themselves against Blackburn United on Saturday afternoon.
The teams met back on the opening day of the season in July and the West Lothian side ran out shock 4-0 winners at the Riverside.
Much has changed since then and, while the Perth men are now operating towards the top of the Premier Division, Blackburn are currently on the brink of a relegation battle.
Swifts are feeling fresh and are raring to go after having their fixture with league leaders Penicuik called off last weekend.
Manager Ross Gunnion said: “We were disappointed to have the game called off last Saturday as we’ve been playing well and felt well-placed to take on the league leaders. The weather beat us.
“But we can’t dwell on that and now turn our attention to Blackburn away and are focusing on trying to improve on the negative result we encountered against them in the opening game of the season.
“Nothing seemed to go right for us that day or in the run up to the game but I feel we’re better placed now to go out and give a true account of ourselves. That will certainly be the message to the players.”
Blackburn, who sit 14th in the Premier Division, lost out to basement boys Whitehill Welfare 4-1 in their most recent fixture.
Swifts, on the other hand, are looking to record their fourth consecutive league win and now sit fifth in the standings. They have lost just two of their last eight league matches.
Gunnion said: “Blackburn will prove a stern test and they are seeking to pull away from the relegation zone which they’ve been dragged towards lately.
“They suffered a sore defeat to Whitehill on Saturday and that shows us the teams towards the bottom are improving and becoming tougher prospects. I’ve no doubt Blackburn will come out fighting this week, seeking to bounce back.
“We have to seek to start the game well and hopefully get a positive result.”
Swifts kept their match sharpness up on Tuesday evening by playing a friendly against the club’s amateur team at the Riverside. A 10-1 victory was recorded.
“It was great to get a run out for the players as we didn’t want to lose momentum and game time,” Gunnion said. “A big thanks to our amateur team who stepped up at the last minute and provided good opposition for the team.”
