Derek Ure: December crucial for East Stirlingshire

Dalbeattie Star visit the Falkirk Stadium on Saturday, with Celtic B also visiting next Friday night, as ‘Shire look to get back to winning ways after an inconsistent run which has seen them slip down to seventh place in the table.

Ure, first and foremost, just wants to get back out on to the pitch and beamoned the schedule situation.

“It’s been frustrating for sure, even after a poor run I would much rather have kept playing. We came into the break with some injuries carrying over so, in that sense, it may have been useful. I am hopeful I might have just about a full squad to pick from for Saturday, which hasn’t really happened so far this season for one reason or another.

“We’ve been playing a couple of bounce matches to keep players ticking over but nothing compares to competitive games,” he said.

Eighth-placed Dalbeattie are now only two points behind ‘Shire and have two games in hand, with Ure acknowledging it is an important game.

“It is a crucial one for us. They all are but the way the table looks at the moment, it is a chance to put some ground between us going into a tough period. They are a decent side and when we went down there and won, they were flying at the time, so they will want revenge.

He added: “We’ve done our due diligence, as always, and will go into the game with the right attitude. It’s a massive month for us.”