Penicuik Athletic finding home form at right time but title is Tranent's to lose

Penicuik are still two points behind the leaders with three games to go, but with third-placed Linlithgow Rose are still in the mix and with some massive head-to-heads coming up between the three contenders, more twists and turns are inevitable.

Although McLeish will have half an eye on events at Forresters Park on Tuesday night, when Tranent take on Linlithgow, he is concentrating on preparing his own team for another must-win match at home to Broxburn Athletic on the same evening. After that, his team travel to bottom-of-the-table Camelon before hosting Linlithgow on the last day.

McLeish believes his team probably need to win all three games to overhaul Tranent, but after a patchy run of results at Penicuik Park since the turn of the year he is confident that they can now find a way to win on home turf.

“That’s two wins at home on the bounce plus a draw,” he pointed out. “We’re unbeaten at home for the last three games, so we’re turning it round now.”

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He added: “All the games have been massive for weeks. It’s so tight between the three teams. Linlithgow have lost ground, so they will have to make it up on Tuesday against Tranent.

“If they don’t, then Tranent will become firm favourites. It is at the stage where all three teams are on edge. All three teams have been a bit nervy recently, although it looks like Tranent have got over that.

“If we win all our games and Tranent win all theirs, they win the league and rightly so. We can only control what we do.”

Tranent were comfortable 3-0 winners at home to Camelon on Saturday, but third-placed Linlithgow drew 0-0 at fourth-placed Jeanfield Swifts and probably have to win their remaining four games to keep their title hopes alive.

Down to ten men, Penicuik kept up the