We will focus on ourselves, insists Halkirk United assistant manager
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Halkirk United will continue to concentrate on themselves and not pay too much attention to the other North Caledonian League title contenders, according to assistant manager Liam Anderson.
The Anglers are fifth in the table with several games in hand on all the teams around them.
Invergordon and Loch Ness are well clear at the top and, frustratingly for the chasing pack, tend to drop very few points.
"They are certainly making it difficult but we're trying not to focus too much on what other teams are doing," Anderson said. "We're trying to focus on what we are doing and taking each week as it comes."
On Saturday, the Anglers – 3-0 winners at home to Bonar Bridge last weekend – will be targeting a fifth successive victory in all competitions when they take on St Duthus at Grant Park in Tain.
"There are no games in this league that are easy," Anderson said. "Bonar Bridge are second bottom but look at how much they have improved.
"St Duthus have maybe not had one of their better seasons but that doesn't mean it's going to be an easy game for us.
"We've got to go in with the right mentality and approach the game as we normally do."
Bonar proved to be stuffy opponents last weekend. Halkirk had a precarious 1-0 lead, courtesy of Grant Aitkenhead's first-half header, until substitute Ethan Kevill struck twice in the closing stages on his debut after joining on loan from Ross County.
Anderson said: "Bonar have definitely improved. They're a good team.
"They came here with a tactic to sit deep and just cause us problems, and they certainly did. One-nil up until the 89th minute tells its own story.
"We try to preach to play football and try to win in a nice way, but there are going to be games like that where there is frustration. It's just about finding a way to get the three points.
"A good performance is a bonus but three points is a must."
Halkirk won 5-0 when St Duthus visited Morrison Park in September, with Jonah Martens scoring a hat-trick. The striker started on the bench against Bonar, coming on as a second-half substitute.
"Jonah took a knock last week but he seems to have recovered," Anderson explained.
"We didn't want to take any chances with Jonah. He was okay to start but, thinking long term, we don't want to put too much on him."
Fellow forward Mark Munro faces a spell on the sidelines, however. He suffered an ankle injury in the first half of the win at Alness last week, necessitating a visit to A&E.
Anderson said: "He's putting weight on it, which is a good sign, but it's still quite badly bruised and the swelling is not out of it yet.
"Mark is hoping to be back in three weeks but I'm expecting his season to be nearly done."
Kevill and his fellow Ross County loanee Kieran MacGregor will add cover, Anderson said, adding: "We're still hopeful of maybe adding one yet.
"It's an area where we've had no cover at all up until this point. We've relied heavily on our front three of Jonah, James [Mackintosh] and Mark."
Thurso remain at the foot of the North Caledonian League after losing 3-1 to Golspie on Wednesday night.
The damage was done in the first half at King George V Park with goals by Graham MacNab, Grant MacNab and Robbie Murray. James Murray pulled one back after the break.
The result extended Golspie's unbeaten run to 11 games and lifted them above Fort William and Halkirk United into third place.
The Vikings are on the road again on Saturday as they meet Inverness Athletic at Inverness Royal Academy.
Scott Davidson's side will be hoping for a repeat of their home match against Athletic a fortnight ago when Lewis Mackillop's first goal for the club was enough to secure a morale-boosting 1-0 victory.
The Vikings were beaten 4-0 at Invergordon on Saturday.
The league leaders took charge with goals from Ken Morrison and Blair Morrison in a three-minute spell in the first half. However, Thurso prevented the Easter Ross outfit from adding to their tally until the closing 10 minutes. Ryan McFee got the third before Andrew Miller rounded off the scoring.
Inverness Athletic lost 2-0 at Fort William. Farquhar MacRae scored before half-time with Finlay Macdonald doubling their advantage midway through the second half.
A double by Graham MacNab after Sam Mackay's opener, all in the first half, gave Golspie a 3-0 win at home to Clachnacuddin "A".
Loch Ness will try to reduce the gap at the top to three points this weekend when they take on Golspie at Fortrose.
Invergordon, who are six points in front, are in North Caledonian Cup quarter-final action against Fort William at the Recreation Grounds.
Loch Ness, who won the North Caley title for the first time last season, kept up the chase with a 2-0 win over Orkney last weekend. Mike Senghor put the champions ahead in the first half and an injury-time strike from Allan Macphee secured all three points.
North Caledonian League results – Saturday: Fort William 2, Inverness Athletic 0; Golspie Sutherland 3, Clachnacuddin "A" 0; Halkirk United 3, Bonar Bridge 0; Invergordon 4, Thurso 0; Loch Ness 2, Orkney 0. Wednesday: Golspie Sutherland 3, Thurso 1.
Fixtures for Saturday – North Caledonian League: Alness United v Orkney; Bonar Bridge v Clachnacuddin "A"; Inverness Athletic v Thurso (Inverness Royal Academy, 1.30pm); Loch Ness v Golspie Sutherland; St Duthus v Halkirk United (1pm).
North Caledonian Cup, quarter-final: Invergordon v Fort William.
