THE Central Park pitch has been re-turfed and re-lined following a stock car racing accident, but Cowdenbeath are determined to knock Rangers off track this Tuesday.
A victory for the Ibrox side in their SPFL Championship game in hand could cut the deficit on leaders Hearts to just four points, but Cowdenbeath covet the spoils just as badly, because a win would take them off the foot of the table.
"We were third-bottom before last Saturday, then it was crash bang back down the bottom," Cowdenbeath manager Jimmy Nicholl told the Sunday Herald. "And we know how difficult the Rangers game is going to be. Our confidence took a bit of a nosedive against Falkirk last Saturday, but you have to remember that our players have been to Easter Road and been 2-1 up, and been to Hearts when it was 1-1 at half time. Every game against these teams gives us confidence that we can be good enough to stay in this league."
While Callum Gallagher is prevented from playing against his parent club due to the fine print of his loan deal, Nicholl is thankful the can still call upon his other Old Firm loan signing, Celtic defender Marcus Fraser - even though the 20-year-old was unable to stop the Fife side shipping six goals against Falkirk.
Fraser made his full debut for Celtic in the Europa League at the age of just 17, in a 3-1 victory against Rennes. He still trains full-time at Lennoxtown and will return to Celtic in December when his 93-day loan comes to an end. While Nicholl would dearly loved to have kept him, he is happy to have had the opportunity to call on his services at all.
"Once the news comes out that players like Marcus are available on loan you think he will go anywhere other than Cowdenbeath," Nicholl said. "It was difficult for him when he came in. The team had only one point from their first six games, and were conceding three goals a game.
"He came into the team and for a young lad you could tell right away that his application is good, that he knows the game around him, and his talking is good. He has really good habits, and has had a really good education in the game.
"I am delighted with him. He lets people around him do their jobs and gets the chance to bring the ball forward. I know we conceded six last week but that really was a blip."
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