CURRIE, who appeared to have blown their title chances when Watsonians assumed the mantle of principal challengers to Melrose last weekend, are banking on a Home Alone run to put them right back in the championship frame.

The weather may yet take a hand - last night Malleny Park was still snow-covered and frost-protected as a result - but today's scheduled visit by Melrose represents the first of five occasions between now and season's end on which Currie will be operating on their own turf.

They have the champions, Jed-Forest, Watsonians, Hawick and the postponed match against Stirling County still to come at Malleny Park. In fact, they are due to travel just the once - a short hop to Meggetland - between now and February, when the championship will be decided.

Home advantage is always special, but at Malleny Park it comes with even more of an edge. The Currie ground at Balerno, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, has a character all of its own.

That is not how rivals would put it, exactly, but, of all the Premiership I grounds, it is among the least favoured by visiting opposition. The journey from the changing rooms and pavilion to the playing surface entails a good 300-yard trek across hockey and soccer pitches.

Even then, exposed as it is high up on the nursery slopes of the Pentlands, the chances are that the pitch will be - as coach Bruce Macnaughton quaintly describes it - ``farmery''. A close-cropped croquet lawn of a pitch it is not.

So, last weekend's defeat by Watsonians at Myreside, which placed Currie in third spot behind Watsonians and stand-alone Melrose, sees them down but most assuredly not out.

There will be a pitch inspection at Malleny Park this morning and Macnaughton, for one, is praying that the match goes ahead. ``We've now got this run of home games and that is to our special advantage just because of the way that Malleny Park is,'' he said.

``You've got that long walk from the clubhouse to the pitch and visitors don't like it. Maybe one day we'll move the pitch to the clubhouse. There are plans to use Millennium Fund money to build a sports centre and move the pitch close by the clubhouse, but that's not going to happen this year and probably not next year either,'' he says. You get the impression that Macnaughton and co are quite happy with the way things are right now.

However, with Malleny unplayable on Thursday night, Currie trained at Edinburgh University's Peffermill ground and, according to Macnaughton, got through a power of work, where tackling came high on the agenda.

He reckons that it was in this basic area that Currie mostly came unstuck against Watsonians last weekend. ``We didn't tackle and we were throwing loose passes around. We also gave away some stupid penalties and, maybe, we tried to play it too wide too soon. Mostly, though, it was slack tackling,'' he said.

New recruit Murray Craig, who brings play-making to centrefield, was due to arrive from Nottingham last night, and the starting line-up will not be confirmed until then, although Bruce Ward, back from injury, will go straight into the back-row at the expense of Peter Simpson.

Meanwhile, championship leaders Melrose are quietly confident of overcoming the Malleny Park men, even though they acknowledge that they will face a stiff test at Malleny Park. ``It will take a good team to stop us after our massive win over Jed-Forest last Saturday,'' said the champions' secretary Stuart Henderson.

Melrose make two changes from the side that beat Jed, Australian Micky Donnan coming in at open-side flanker for youngster Alec Clark, while Scotland international Derek Stark takes over from Mark Moncrieff on the right wing.

Second-placed Watsonians take on neighbours Boroughmuir in the south Edinburgh derby match at Meggetland. Watsonians have given a vote of confidence to the pack that played exceptionally well against Currie last Saturday, which means another league match for young lock Jason White, a Scottish Schools cap last season.

Boroughmuir play Scotland international Doug Wyllie at centre in an attempt to put some zip into what has been a sluggish midfield. Also back is chunky wing Steve Reed at the expense of Neil Renton.

Star return: Derek Stark is set to be back in the Melrose side for the top-of-the-table clash with Currie today at Malleny Park.