It’s all change at Ochilview this week following the departure of Stephen Swift, Michael Moore and Frazer Wright.

Sean Crighton takes the reins while the Club look for a replacement for Swifty in, what will be, the Club’s 26th permanent manager.

Ray McKinnon brings his Forfar side to Ochilview for the final fixture of this calendar year. The Warriors have performed well against The Loons, being undefeated in the last 5 meetings. They also find themselves bottom of League Two, though a victory on Saturday will take them only one point behind their hosts.

Following a busy week at the club, the website was able to catch up with interim manager Sean Crighton and how he’s feeling.

“Obviously gutted for the way that things panned out for the gaffer and Fraz and Mick. For me,  we’ve probably underperformed as players and I’m just going to do what I can to try and get the players back playing and hopefully try and get us back to where I think that we should be.

“We’ve got a good group of players and, as I say, we’ve underperformed, but I’m hoping that me coming in for a couple of weeks, we can try and get a bit of foundation and hopefully get the points that are needed.”

Preparation has obviously been disrupted this week, but how has Sean’s week with the boys been?

“Well, this has been the first night taking the team. Obviously we found out the news yesterday [Wedneday] and it’s been good tonight. There’s a good buzz about the place and I’ve had a chat with the boys with what I’d be looking to do. I’ve also spoken with the Chairman to let him know my thoughts on stuff and their thoughts too. But, as I say, there’s a good buzz about the players and I feel as if I’m going to get the best out of them for a couple of weeks. ”

Onto Saturday’s opponents. We’re undefeated in five and they find themselves bottom of the table. However, with a good victory over Albion Rovers on Saturday, they’re looking to start a run of form.

“I’ll say this in every interview I do, as a player, as caretaker manager, every game is difficult. They’ve just come off a good win against a good Albion Rovers side, so we’ll look to concentrate on us first and foremost, and I think that’s what we need to do. We are expecting a tough game, but I’ve every confidence in the boys to get the win.”

And finally, with the squad looking bare thin following last weekend’s loss in Elgin, is there any positive news?

“We’ve got good news and bad news. I’m out with a torn calf for a few weeks, Danny has an issue in his hip area and will also miss out. But Nicky and Nat both trained tonight [Thursday], so I’ll assess both and see how they feel for Saturday but it’s good to have those two back as well.

“Adam’s [Corbett] had no problem this week, it’s just been a bit of tightness last week that’s caused him an issue. I may have to put people into positions that they don’t usually play. But, at the end of the day, I need to get the best out of the squad as a whole and hopefully get everyone back over the next few weeks.”

MATCHDAY INFORMATION

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Kick-off: 3pm

Match Entry: Both home and away fans can enter via pay at the gate [cash] or you can purchase your ticket in advance by using Fanbase. Adult admission costing £14, concessions £9 and under 16’s just £6. Under 16 Season Ticket holders for both clubs can enter for free.

PPV: Warriors TV is live and you can join Cammy McIntyre from 2.45pm. PPV is £10 and you can watch it here.

Getting Here: Click here for details of how to get to Ochilview by car or train.

Season Card Holders: Season Tickets are valid for this match and the ticket number will be shown on the turnstiles.

The Pie Hut: Food and drinks will be available to be purchased from the Pie Hut.

The Wee Bar: The Wee Bar is open from 12pm with all fans welcome.

Ochilview Matchday Guide: You can read our Matchday Guide here and ensure that you have everything that you need for your visit to the ground.

Referee: Iain Sneddon

Assistants: Andy Milne & Euan Birch

Player DJ: Scott Walker

Bakermat – Baby

Bellini – Samba de Janeiro

Fleetwood Mac – Everywhere

Crystal Waters – Gypsy Women

The Beatles – Twist and Shout

We’ve added all of our Player DJ selections to a Spotify Playlist, and you can listen HERE.

 

OPPOSITION INFORMATION

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Last 10 Matches 

Date	Venue	Competition	Opponent	Result	Score
3 Dec	Home	League Two	Albion Rovers	W	1-0
26 Nov	Away	Scottish Cup	Dunfermline Athletic	L	4-0
19 Nov	Away	League Two	Dumbarton	D	2-2
12 Nov	Home	League Two	Bonnyrigg Rose	D	1-1
5 Nov	Home	League Two	Annan Athletic	L	1-4
29 Oct	Away	League Two	Stranraer	L	1-0
22 Oct	Away	Scottish Cup	Kilwinning Rangers	W	1-3
15 Oct	Away	League Two	Elgin City	W	0-1
8 Oct	Home	League Two	East Fife	L	1-3
1 Oct	Home	League Two	Dumbarton	D	0-0

 

Top Scorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Assists	Played	Goals per 90	Mins per Goal	Total Shots	Goal Conversion	Shot Accuracy
1	Matthew Aitken	4	1	20	0.27	337	20	20%	55%
2	Stefan McCluskey	3	2	19	0.17	522	21	14%	57%
2	Ben Armour	3	1	17	0.3	297	11	27%	64%
4	Joshua Jack	2	1	19	0.21	426	12	17%	42%
5	Craig Slater	1	1	18	0.06	1409	26	4%	58%
5	Jaden Ferguson	1	0	7	0.32	280	4	25%	50%
5	Kevin Hanratty	1	0	14	0.15	600	7	14%	71%
5	Kyle Hutton	1	0	18	0.06	1389	4	25%	75%
5	Roberto Nditi	1	0	17	0.06	1485	9	11%	56%
5	Andrew Munro	1	0	18	0.06	1620	13	8%	38%

The statistics shown for each player include any goals they may have scored in the following competitions in the current season: Scottish League Cup, Scottish League Two

 

FIXTURE INFORMATION

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Last 10 Meetings

Date	Venue	Competition	Result	Score
27 Aug 22	Away	League Two	W	1-2
30 Apr 22	Away	League Two	D	0-0
26 Feb 22	Home	League Two	W	2-0
26 Dec 21	Away	League Two	W	3-4
2 Oct 21	Home	League Two	D	1-1
20 Apr 19	Home	League One	L	0-3
23 Feb 19	Away	League One	L	2-1
20 Oct 18	Home	League One	L	1-2
25 Aug 18	Away	League One	L	2-0
26 Mar 16	Home	League One	W	2-1
23 Jan 16	Away	League One	W	0-1

 

ON THIS DAY – 10 December 

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Year	Opponent	Competition	Venue	Result	Score
2016	Airdrieonians	League One	Away	W	0-5
2011	Airdrieonians	Division Two	Home	D	1-1
2005	Partick Thistle	Scottish Cup R2	Home	L	1-4
1996	Hamilton Academical	Division Two	Away	W	0-2
1988	Arbroath	Division Two	Home	D	0-0
1983	East Stirlingshire	Scottish Cup R1	Away	L	1-0
1977	East Stirlingshire	Division Two	Home	W	1-0
1966	Third Lanark	Division Two	Away	L	3-1
1960	Queens Park	Division Two	Away	L	4-2
1955	Queens Park	Division Two	Away	L	2-0
1949	Cowdenbeath	Division Two	Home	L	0-1
1938	Dunfermline Athletic	Division Two	Away	L	7-1
1932	Forfar Athletic	Division Two	Away	W	1-2
1927	Third Lanark	Division Two	Home	W	1-0
1921	East Stirlingshire	Division Two	Away	D	0-0

 

LEAGUE INFORMATION

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East Fife vs Bonnyrigg Rose

Stenhousemuir vs Forfar Athletic