DANNY Conlon has warned his threadbare Fort William squad they will face an uphill battle if they concede an early Highland League goal away to Deveronvale this Saturday.
The Fort manager may be forced to watch his side from the stands, after he was sent from the dug-out in last weekend's 3-1 home defeat to Brora Rangers.
Added to mounting injuries and opponents in the form of a cock-a-hoop Deveronvale side scoring at will, Conlon knows his side will have to take every chance they get if they are to come home from Banff with the points.
The manager said: "We have got a really tough few weeks coming up, but the most important thing now is to pick ourselves up and look ahead.
"We have a few walking wounded and Deveronvale away is about as tough as it gets, but we have shown recently how much progress we are making.
"Deveronvale are rebuilding their side to an extent, but they still have quality players across the pitch and we will need to contain them for the first 20 minutes."?The boss added: "So often this season, we have put ourselves under huge pressure by conceding early on away from home.
"It is very difficult for a team in our position to come back into a game after that. It is an uphill battle until the final whistle."
Michael Gillespie and namesake Mark hobbled off the park on Saturday and the manager does not expect them to be fit for the trip to Banff.
He said: "Both Gillespies came off injured, Darren Duncan and Iain Foggo didn't get to play at all because of injury, and now Michael Ellis will miss the game because of his suspension.
"It's difficult but we were glad to play at the weekend. It is unusual for a Fort William home game to be one of the only games to be played when the Highland League card is wiped out."
Saturday's game ended in controversy when the referee allowed Liam Baxter's 40-yard strike of an uncontested bounce ball to stand. Conlon was sent from the dug-out after confronting Baxter on the pitch, while Fort's Michael Ellis had earlier been sent off.
Conlon said: "I told Baxter in no uncertain terms what I thought. I didn't swear, though, and the referee is due to submit a full report about what happened, so we will see if I am able to return to the dug-out for Saturday."
Reflecting on the loss, Conlon said: "It was a major disappointment and it has been bugging me.
"We really just can't hold a lead. We dominated for 70-75 minutes and were by far the better side.
"We let them back into the game and then the sending off happened. That was disappointing because we spoke for a long time before the game about discipline and how important it is that we stayed on the pitch, because it can change the game.
"We put in an awful lot of hard work into the game finishing let us down. If you don't defend in the box you're always going to concede."
l Conlon reminded youngsters they can take part in five-a-side sessions at the Nevis Centre from tomorrow (Friday).
The Midnight Leagues, sponsored by the SFA and Bank of Scotland, are open to 12 to 16-year-olds.
Sessions run from 7pm to 9pm each week and those without a team can get a game.
