City make the long journey south-west to take on playoff-chasing Stranraer tomorrow evening hoping to build on the positives from Saturday's match.

Despite a narrow defeat against Stirling Albion in the first fixture back after the restart, there were promising signs from a City side featuring eight debutants.

Stranraer, meanwhile, come into the fixture off the back of a 3-0 defeat to league leaders Queen's Park but hadn't lost in seven league matches prior to this.

TEAM NEWS
City's only likely absentee will be Player/Manager Michael Paton who sustained a hamstring injury against Stirling Albion on Saturday. Albeit not serious, tomorrow's game will likely come too soon for him. Otherwise, City should have a full squad to choose from.

MANAGERS COMMENTS
Looking back at the game on Saturday, Michael said, "I felt as if we didn't deserve to lose the game, I thought a draw would have probably been a fair result. We limited them to two or three opportunities and I thought we were sound defensively and comfortable throughout other than a lapse of concentration which led to the goal. Stirling are one of the strongest teams in the league and we held our own.

There were plenty of good individual performances and with so many fresh faces in the starting 11 they created relationships and the boys gelled really quickly. I thought young (Connor) O'Harris was outstanding playing in an unfamiliar position and he took that in his stride and didn't look out of place. Gerry (McLauchlan) was a real leader on the park and he showed why we've brought him on board. He helped steady the ship and allowed us to build from the back so we're pleased to see him hit the ground running.

"We've had such a short period of time to get to know one another and drill in how we wanted to play and what our aim is. I feel like everyone is really on board and we're all together in this. The boys were angry and frustrated at full time on Saturday because of all the hard work they put into it but at the same time they were all encouraging each other on how they played. We didn't want to get our heads down too much because the performance levels were great and we couldn't fault their efforts. It's a platform to build on.

Looking ahead to a tough trip to Stranraer tomorrow evening, Michael added, "I feel positive after Saturday's performance - if the players show up like they did and add that little bit extra in the final third we'll give ourselves a great chance against anyone in the league.

Asked if he would be looking to rotate his squad over the coming matches, Michael commented, "The schedule is going to put a lot of pressure on all League 1 & 2 Clubs. I think we've got to be sensible and get the balance right - these players have been off for 3 months and they've had 5 or 6 training sessions so to ask them to play 3 games within a week is going to take its toll. We've said to the players that it's a team game and they need to be game-ready should they be called upon - if they aren't getting minutes on the park then they need to ensure they are doing their bit away from the game. We will need to use the full squad over these next two months."

MATCH OFFICIALS
Tomorrow's match referee is Kevin Graham, assisted by David Doig and Brian Templeton.

LIVE MATCH STREAM
Stranraer FC will be providing a live stream of the match tomorrow evening, with pay-per-view access priced at £7.99. To register and subscribe for the game, visit STRANRAER FC LIVE. Please note that the match kicks off at 7:30pm.

PREVIOUS MEETING
Brechin City 1-4 Stranraer - 28th November 2020
City’s poor sequence of results continued as an in-form Stranraer side ran out comfortable winners at Glebe Park at the tail end of November.

Luc Bollan’s first competitive goal for the Club had City deservedly on level terms at the break before defensive frailties cost cost Michael Paton’s side in the second half.