All eyes on Greenock Wanderers ahead of bottom of the table clash

ALL eyes lie on Greenock Wanderers on Saturday ahead of a trip to the east coast, where all the pressure is on them to put in a convincing display, writes John Dyer.

Wanderers make the journey to the east coast to take on bottom of the table North Berwick in Tennent's National Division Four, realistically having to produce a towering display in an effort to produce a win with bonus points.

The last time the teams met, the home side kicked a penalty with the last play of the match to snatch victory.

Wanderers' last league game ended in a frustrating 9-3 defeat at home to Linlithgow. (Image: William Black) Wanderers are desperate to end a losing run that stretched to a seventh match in all competitions last Friday night when they were beaten 20-7 away to Cartha Queens Park in their latest pool fixture in the National League Cup.

However, there were plenty of positives for the coaching team to take from a gritty performance at Dumbreck by a squad which combined players from the club's first, second and third XV.

North Berwick have had a very poor start to their season, having been deducted points for failing to put together a team for their matches against Strathmore and Moray earlier in the campaign; if the same thing happens again, they will be automatically relegated to the regional leagues.

READ MORE: Wanderers hold their heads high despite cup defeat to Cartha

They have recovered to a degree since then, with a narrow win at home to Stewartry in mid-October demonstrating that the Fort Matilda men will not have it easy on Saturday, though they still have a minus points tally, and Wanderers are hoping to have as strong a side as possible to travel.

But the coaching staff face an anxious wait on some injured players to be available.

Saturday's game also comes after a very positive meeting of the players this week, where they acknowledge the need to raise their game considerably if they're to take anything from Saturday's match.

In particular the players recognised that they need to cut out the number of penalties they are giving away to the opposition - something which hit them hard in their last league game at home to Linlithgow.

Greenock Wanderers are aiming to end a seven-match losing run when they travel to bottom-of-the-table North Berwick on Saturday. (Image: alex craig) Elsewhere on Saturday, the Wanderers' second string travel to Lanarkshire to take on Dalziel, knowing that a win will see them go top of the league.

The third XV have a local derby away to Bishopton, while the under-18s host hardy travellers Oban at Fort Matilda with a 2pm kick-off.

On Sunday the focus turns to the club's youth section, with the under-16 boys at home to Annan at 10am and the under-16 girls facing Ayr at 11am.

At noon there's training for the under-14 boys and girls, and then at 2pm the club's ladies' first XV are looking to keep their good form going when they kick off against Ayr.