Defiant Bonnyrigg Rose captain Kerr Young promises to fight tooth and nail in bid to avoid the drop

Kerr Young is rallying his Bonnyrigg Rose team-mates. Picture: Joe Gilhooley LRPS

The New Dundas Park outfit are six points adrift at the bottom of League Two with just four games remaining - nearest rivals Forfar who Rose visit next weekend - enjoying the added cushion of a vastly superior goal difference.

Title-chasing East Fife arrive in Midlothian tomorrow looking to all but consign Jonny Stewart's men to a play-off against either Lowland League champions East Kilbride, or Highland League winners Brora Rangers or Brechin City.

However, central defender Young is solely focused on securing three points against the high-flying Fifers before he resorts to the permutations game.

Rose found themselves on the wrong end of a 5-0 thumping at league leaders Peterhead six days ago - a result and performance Young concedes was completely unacceptable.

"I think everyone is just really low on confidence to be honest with you," the 31-year-old told the Evening News. "Some of the goals we're giving away are just ridiculous. We're getting punished for every little mistake. We can't score and we can't defend just now so it's always going to be an uphill battle if that's the script. But we just need to try and stay positive.

"Some of the players have been in a similar position previously, so if you can get a win from somewhere, it can suddenly change. If we can get three points on Saturday and Forfar lose at Clyde, we play them next weekend so we could be back level on points. That's the mindset we have to adopt.

"Peterhead are a decent side but we were absolutely rubbish last week. It was men against boys. It was as if everyone had just downed tools. It felt like a training game. That's not a Bonnyrigg side, one that has always had that fight and belief. That was some journey home as it felt like a lifetime. It was probably the worst of the season. But because we're in the position we are, everything seems to go against us. It's what happens when you're at the bottom of the league - nothing goes for you.

"The odds are heavily stacked against us and I realise that. There's nothing for us to lose so we need to go for it. If we are to be involved in the play-offs then we need to try and pick up some momentum going into those matches, but we can't think like that. We're not throwing in the towel that's for sure."

Bonnyrigg's plight has not been aided by a six-point deduction incurred last November for breaching SPFL rules over the gradient of their pitch. Manager Calum Elliot was also sacked last month and replaced by former midfielder Stewart in a bid to revive the club's fortunes. But Young accepts performances on the park have fallen well below expectations.

"Prior to the points deduction we were actually doing really well but since then everything has just gone Pete Tong," he said. "There's not much Jonny and Ross (Gray) can do, it's the boys who have been there all season. I know we would still be bottom even without the deduction but when you get a sucker punch like that midway through the season, it just knocks the wind out of you.

"But we are where we are and we just have to get stuck in about it. You can make all the excuses you want but you're in that position because you're the worst team in the league.

"We had a team bonding night on Tuesday which was good. We went and watched the football at the Ballroom in Morningside, had a few games of pool to try and lift the spirits. It was something different where we could all have a bit of a laugh.

"I understand why the fans are so annoyed because this season just hasn't been good enough and I feel the same. I've been here 10 years; I love the club so it's heartbreaking the situation we find ourselves in. But we won't give up."