Rose within sniff of success but Bo'ness hold all the aces

The Rose beat Bo'ness 4-0 away to go three points clear of their local rivals at the top of the table, with both teams facing crunch games this weekend.

Linlithgow bring down the curtain on their campaign at home to Bonnyrigg, while Bo'ness are away to Forfar West End in their penultimate game.

The title-holders face Tayport in their final match, when it could come to goal difference and Linlithgow are two better off in that department than Bo'ness at the moment.

"I think our players had the attitude last week that they were entering the 'Last Chance Saloon'," admitted Baikie. "They knew that any other result than a win would have put Bo'ness in a really strong position.

"I didn't expect the result we got but we played very well and now we need another good performance against Bonnyrigg."

It will be the visitors' first game under new manager Max Christie, who was appointed a fortnight ago when Alan Miller left to go to Newtongrange.

"We know that this will be a tough one for us," added Baikie. "It is difficult to say who's in the driving seat for the title now.

"But, if I was the Bo'ness manager, I'd be saying it was still them due to the fact they've got two games to go and can score enough goals in those games to win it. I still think there might be a twist or turn to come and all we can do is go out and try and make sure we get a win.

"If we do that, we will make things harder for Bo'ness if they also win their game."

On paper, a trip to Forfar West End would be the last thing Bo'ness would have wanted at such a crucial stage in the title race.

But, according to rumours, all is not well at the Angus club, with manager Jim Finlayson either having moved to Dundee Violet already or on his way there.

"We could win the title tomorrow depending on what happens elsewhere but I honestly can't see Bo'ness not winning at Forfar due to what has been going on there," said Baikie.

Bo'ness boss Willie Newbigging has also heard the rumours but he's refusing to read too much into them going into such an important game for his side.

"I knew the Forfar manager was unhappy when they played us a few weeks back but I don't believe for one minute that any player goes into a game wanting to lose," he said.

"We need to go about our business the way we would for any game, no matter what might be happening with our opponents."

Newbigging was disappointed to see his side lose so heavily at home last weekend. But, with two games two go, he believes his players deserve enormous credit for still being in the title race.

"I'm not going to take anything away from Linlithgow because they deserved to win last Saturday," he added.

"They were a bit more hungrier but, at the same time, I don't think we played particularly well.

"But we've now had the long overdue rest all the players were needing and we'll hopefully be back and raring to go again on Saturday.

"We believe it is still in our hands but, regardless of what happens over the next two weeks, I believe it is still going to be a good season for us.

"Faced with a backlog of games, the players have rolled up their sleeves and got themselves in a position where we can still retain the title.

"If someone had said that was even possible two months ago then we would have been absolutely delighted. The players have been an absolute credit to the club."

Both teams will be without key players tomorrow, with Linlithgow in particular facing a defensive headache.

Skipper John Ward, who is retiring at the end of the season, has played his last game for the club due to work commitments. And, providing Baikie with another gap to fill, Mark Tyrrell is also unavailable tomorrow.

"Mark did well last week alongside Kevin Donnelly but now I need to find someone else to play in central defence," said the Rose manager.

Bo'ness captain Roger Duffin is still away on his honeymoon but the good news for Newbigging is that Graham Guy and Jamie Hay are both back from suspension.

"Players are also recovering from some of the injuries they've been playing with," noted the Bo'ness boss, who insists his only priority tomorrow is a win.

"There's no point saying we can go up to Forfar and score half-a-dozen goals because of what's happening there," he said. "We have to concentrate simply on winning - what happens elsewhere is out of our control."