Renfrew boss Jimmy Quigley has urged his players to prepare for 13 ‘cup finals’ as they approach the business end of the league season.
The New Western Park side returned to winning ways on Friday night as they taught Glasgow University a lesson with a 6-0 win at the Excelsior Stadium.
Ciaran Diver scored four, taking him past the half-century mark for the club, with Dominic Lavelle and Dominic Innes also on target in what was a comfortable night for Quigley’s team in Airdrie.
It means they are back on track after a mini-slump since lifting the Strathclyde Demolition Cup last month, with a defeat by Maryhill and a draw with Forth Wanderers meaning points were dropped.
That allowed the likes of Ashfield, Glasgow Perthshire and Craigmark Burntonians back into the hunt for the title ahead of this weekend’s top-of-the-table clash with Ashfield.
Quigley has stressed he doesn’t want to be relying on favours from other teams later in the season.
He said: “I was delighted with the performance on Friday and it could have been more. Some of the goals we scored were great.
“We hit a wee bit of a rut over the last few weeks which has brought everyone in the chasing pack in the league back into it.
“Maryhill deserved to beat us after the cup final and against Forth we conceded in the last minute but everything kicked into place on Friday.
“There are 13 cup finals left to try and get us promoted, so it was good to get the goals early and it meant we could get other bodies on and get them some game time and rest some others.
“The motivation for us is that, if we go and win on Saturday, then Ashfield’s game in hand doesn’t really matter as long as we take care of ourselves. We just want to keep it in our own hands.”
With a free Saturday to enjoy, Quigley took in Ashfield’s 3-0 win at St Anthony’s.
Having already drawn 1-1 with Ashfield at home earlier in the campaign, he knows exactly what to expect this weekend.
“They are the best team we’ve played so far this season,” said Quigley. “I went to watch them on Saturday and they have good players all over the park.”
Kick-off is at 2pm.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here