Cove Rangers need to treat blip as learning curve

Blair Yule in action for Cove Rangers against Clyde.

Blair Yule hopes Cove Rangers can treat their recent League One blip as a learning curve.

Cove head into today’s game against Forfar Athletic without a win in five games, which has undermined a positive start to the season.

Their four defeats during this run have all come by one goal, with errors being punished more clinically than they perhaps would have been in seasons past.

A 3-2 loss at Clyde last weekend was also their second home defeat on the bounce, at a venue where Cove’s form had been imperious since it opened in 2018.

The step up a league has taken some getting used to for the Aberdeen side, who now sit in mid-table at the end of 2020.

Yule said: “It’s been a tricky spell, but it’s a good learning curve for us. We’re new to this league and, even after the start we had, I don’t think anyone thought this was going to be plain sailing.

“The players were not happy with how the last few weeks have gone. We don’t feel we’re playing badly; we’re in a period where things aren’t going for us. We’re not getting the breaks.

“It’s important we stay focused and play the way we have been playing. We’re playing well but have not been able to get over the line at the minute.

“Now that we’ve played all the teams in the league we know what to expect. Over the last few weeks I don’t feel like teams have had too many chances against us, but when it comes to needing to get something, teams have been scoring worldies and penalties.”

The trip to Forfar today marks the first game of the second round of fixtures for Cove, who won their first four before the recent dip.

Yule added: “They hadn’t had the best of starts, so the league game we played, we were on a good run and they maybe weren’t.

“We’re now on a not-so-good run, so I think it’ll be very different to how it was at Cove. We were playing our usual passing game and creating chances, but those chances are not quite coming for us at the minute.

“You can almost split the season into three and say ‘that’s the first part of the season done, let’s try rattle out as many wins as we can’. That starts today.”