Halkirk are not angling for the title
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Title talk is not an option, Halkirk United boss Ewan McElroy has insisted ahead of Saturday's crunch North Caledonian League clash at Invergordon.
After a poor start that culminated in the end of Gordon MacDonald's reign as manager, the Anglers under McElroy have gone three games unbeaten.
Such is the tightness of the league title race so far that they are in near touching distance of the summit, with five points separating them from the table-toppers who happen to be tomorrow's opponents.
A win at Invergordon would close that gap to two points, although St Duthus will maintain a five-point margin if they beat Bunillidh Thistle this weekend.
However, McElroy insists its far too early to say Halkirk are making a return the good old days of earlier on this decade.
He said: "I'll have to put on my sensible hat here and play down such talk.
"Right now, I'm just focused on getting the fundamentals of the game right – just making sure that the boys are going the right way about doing the basics and using that as a starting point.
"The last two seasons were not the best so it's all about building up skills and confidence one step at a time. Hopefully we will go on to the next step of looking at how high we can get ourselves up the league.
"What I will say is that I've been impressed so far with what I've seen from the players. We're going to take a few more weeks to fully assess the squad."
I'm just focused on getting the fundamentals of the game right
The current crop recently earned a 2-2 draw at league champions Golspie after being 2-0 down – a result and performance that might suggest a similar result, or better, could be achieved at Invergordon.
McElroy said: "We're under no illusions about this game. Invergordon away will be tough.
"Golspie was encouraging and showed what we're capable of, but what we did there does not automatically mean the same will happen on Saturday.
"Invergordon are a very strong team and we know that another good performance from ourselves will be required.
"However, the fact that we got a result at Golspie will give us confidence that we can go and compete with teams of that calibre. All I ask from the boys is that they give their best, and if that ends up with a good result for us then we'll take it."
Halkirk had last weekend off but also taking a rain check in more ways than one were rivals Thurso.
As reported in last week's John O'Groat Journal, damage done to the pitch had already put up a barrier to them trying to ensure last Saturday's fixture at the Dammies against Orkney went ahead. However, rain intervened to put the final seal on the match's postponement with the pitch being waterlogged.
That meant that results elsewhere knocked Thurso off the top of the table.
A double from Ian Penwright and one from Ken Morrison gave Invergordon a 3-1 win against Inverness Athletic who had James Murray net for them. Invergordon top the table on goal difference ahead of both Thurso and St Duthus.
North Caledonian League fixtures
Saturday, October 26 (kick-offs 2pm unless stated)
Invergordon v Halkirk
Inverness Athletic v Bonar Bridge
Orkney v Golspie Sutherland (12.45pm)
St Duthus v Bunillidh Thistle
