Head coach Alan Clark confident Perthshire will steer clear of relegation

They have been dragged into an uncomfortable relegation fight.

But Perthshire head coach Alan Clark is certain his players will steer away from the national league drop.

One team will exit the National League 3 this season and the Eagles currently sit second-from-bottom.

And this weekend a massive and defining battle is set to take place at the North Inch.

Shire welcome Greenock Wanderers, who are five points back in the standings, to Perth on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s not a situation we wanted to be in,” Clark admitted.

“We turned the year on 17 points and we are still sitting on 17 points.

“But it is still in our hands and that is the message I’ve been putting out to the boys. We’ve changed some of the processes in the last wee while and we’re talking about how we develop ourselves long-term, not just in these last three games.

“They are important but it’s how we change ourselves as a club. We’ve been in this situation a number of years now. It’s more uncomfortable than where we wanted it to be, but we’ll see ourselves out of it. I have no doubt.”

As also touched upon in previous years, maintaining a national league presence is important for the club.

But Clark knows survival should never just be the aim - he wants to be competing up the table.

“It’s really important to have a culture that the guys can buy into,” he added. “That’s the driver for us at the moment.

“We don’t just want to survive, we want to be proactive in the national leagues.

“That means we’re going to have to change two or three things around the club. The players are buying into it.

“It’s important the guys coming through from the Colts and youth system have something to get excited about.”

Clark should have a strong squad at his disposal for this