Spartans star James Craigen hungry to get to work

Spartans midfielder James Craigen

The Ainslie Park side's last League Two outing was three weeks ago when they comfortably saw off Stirling Albion 3-0.

The club's clash visit of Stranraer the following week fell foul of the cold weather and, with Scottish Cup fever taking centre stage seven days ago, Dougie Samuel's men were again left without a first-team fixture having exited the competition at the expense of Cowdenbeath in the previous round.

And former Partick Thistle and Dunfermline midfielder Craigen revealed the squad is champing at the bit ahead of the clash at New Dundas Park.

"When you start to string some wins together you just want to keep that momentum going so it's disappointing when you find you have your Saturday afternoons free," the 33-year-old explained. "But there's nothing you can do about it, the lads have trained well so we're all raring to go.

"Bonnyrigg have rallied since the points deduction and these sorts of things can galvanise the club, players and fans. They're in a good run of form and anyone who plays in the SPFL will tell you Bonnyrigg is a tough place to go. You've got to stand up and be counted because you know what to expect. We're going to need to be right at it to get anything out of the match."

Craigen believes seventh-placed Spartans have overcome their inconsistency where victory in Midlothian today could see them move into the top half of the table.

"We have been a bit inconistent so far in the league this season but in any campaign you're going to have peaks and troughs and it's about getting through those troughs as quickly as possible," he said. "You can't get too down so you have to work hard but also have that belief as well. We're a good team. We haven't become a bad side overnight. We're coming off two good wins so we definitely feel like we're looking up the way. We want to make it three wins in a row this afternoon - we've got a game on Tuesday night as well - so they're coming thick and fast.

"You want to play in the big games so it was disappointing not playing in the cup last weekend. But we had a great run in the Scottish Cup run last season and I'm sure we'll go on another journey in years to come. It wasn't meant to be and Cowdenbeath got the win to progress through. We're not too downhearted, we had a great time in the League Cup but our focus is on the league as it's our bread and butter. We want to be competing at the top end of the table.

"It's a long season. No titles, or promotions are won before Christmas. The club has enjoyed so much success over the last few years so it's not always going to go your way. We weren't in great form but we feel we're now through that. The sleeves have been rolled up so let's see where we are come April/May time."