Francesc Fabregas

The biggest game in Scotland this weekend is taking place in FK5 as Stenhousemuir welcome East Fife to Ochilview. Both sides are coming into this match in contrasting fortunes - Stenny have won their last six matches, while the Fifers seem capable of thrashing the division's lesser lights but unable to beat the stronger competitors. Recent encounters between the sides have been close, with the Warriors narrowly winning 2-0 in Methil in August, and I'm expecting this match to be similar. There's no reason for Gary Naysmith to alter the team that beat Dumbarton on Saturday. The players should be confident coming into this one and, providing they haven't had their very own "La Manga" on their Christmas night out in Liverpool, raring to go: - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Ross Taylor - - Nat Wedderburn - Mikey Anderson - - Kinlay Bilham - Gregor Buchanan - Nicky Jamieson - Edin Lynch - - Darren Jamieson - Adam Brown will return from a one-game ban and will probably make do with a cameo appearance off the bench. I also hope James Berry can build on his goal from the weekend (even if he knew nothing about it) and can also contribute at some point too. East Fife aren't having the season I expected from them but they're not a side to be underestimated and they've caused us setbacks in the past. Nevertheless, we have a presentable run of fixtures between now and the new year - the Fifers, Elgin City, Clyde - and I'd be disappointed if we're unable to keep the good run here. Home win!

Need to hear more about these bad dads.

I thought Stenhousemuir deserved to win today's match and any other outcome would have been unfair. After riding out a sticky 20-minute spell at the beginning of the game, Stenny were the more dominant side, played on the front foot and could have scored long before the ball whacked off James Berry and into the net at the death. It's an enormous three points and a win that puts us a good distance clear at the top of table; there's a very good feeling around Ochilview at the moment. On the whole, I thought it was a really entertaining encounter between two in-form sides. Given the inclement weather in Dumbarton over the past couple of days, I was expecting an attritional battle but was pleasantly surprised with both teams doing their best to keep possession and build through the middle. The Sons looked the part from the off and had us pinned back, with Kalvin Orsi giving Kinlay Bilham a particularly hard time down the right flank, and they knocked the ball around well in the final third. But other than a header straight at Darren Jamieson, they didn't really test the visitors, and once Stenny got to grips with the game, they were the better side for the most part. Nicky Jamieson and Gregor Buchanan were excellent at centre-back and kept almost everything at bay, but Nat Wedderburn was the best player on the park, turning in his finest performance of the season, with his big arse and long legs ensuring his team stayed on top. Wedderburn also got through a power of running in the middle and really dug his team-mates out at points, something you tend not to see from him. Edin Lynch also had a decent game and if he did noise up the home fans at the end, fair play, good, because I've no doubt he was given a hard time throughout. Further forward, Matty Yates and Ross Taylor showed some flashes of excellence as they support Matty Aitken. Aitken should have scored when Yates (I think) teed him up, and Euan O'Reilly should definitely have scored when Taylor put in a low ball from the right with the goal gaping. Brett Long deserves a lot of credit for making two outstanding saves but the ball should have hit the net both times. Instead, it took Berry being in the right place at the right time with four minutes remaining to deflect Mikey Anderson's shot into the net. The ball seemed to take an age as it meekly trundled over the line but what a feeling! That's twice now we've scored winners from deflected Anderson efforts (the first was against the Spartans, where his shot cannoned off Nicky Jamieson and went in), and that's twice now Berry has won the game for Stenhousemuir late on. I think we're all yet to be convinced by him - he looks a little slight and overawed by the pace of League 2 - but I'm convinced he'll come good and develop into an important player, much like Anderson. Dumbarton forced a couple of stramashes towards the death but couldn't capitalise on their insistent work. I generally liked what I saw from them and think they've got a useful group of players there, but I can understand their supporters' frustrations because it does feel like a significant setback, even at this stage, and adds credence to the belief that you can never fully trust Stevie Farrell to manage Dumbarton to success. I imagine Farrell will think his side were unlucky to lose out to a late deflected goal but they just didn't do enough to win the match themselves. All I can hope is that Stenhousemuir build on this performance and maintain their excellent form over the festive period. They have a presentable run of fixtures against some of the poorest sides in the division, but we've drawn with Elgin City earlier in the season and could have easily lost to Clyde, so nothing can be taken for granted. I hope the players have an excellent Christmas night out this evening because they deserve to celebrate after what they've served us up so far.

Congratulations to Gary Naysmith for winning the League 2 Manager of the Month for November. Naysmith, and his team, deserve enormous credit for how they've bounced back from the Scottish Cup defeat to Brora Rangers and climbed to the top of division. And congratulations once more to Matty Aitken for winning the League 2 Player of the Month for the same period. A snootier person might say Mikey Anderson's perhaps more deserving of the accolade but Aitken's goals - five in four games, lest we forget! - have been vital to our excellent form. Aitken really seems to be coming into a game just now, and long may it continue. Fair play to everyone associated with the club at the moment!

If you're going to put a Scottish Cup embarrassment against non-league opposition in rearview mirror, there's no better way to do it than by winning your next five matches! In all five games, there's been something to admire - a come-from-behind victory against Forfar Athletic, bouncing back from two quickfire setbacks against the Spartans, playing one of the best teams in the division off the park (Peterhead), winning in Stranraer for the first time in eight years, and beating stubborn opponents with 10 men (Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic). We've got a good manager, a likeable group of players and we're capable of playing good football. If that's not a cause for optimism, I don't know what is! It's fun to get carried away sometimes! You must remember how it good it feels to dream?

The biggest game in the SPFL this weekend sees Dumbarton hosting Stenhousemuir at the Rock. Both sides are legitimate title contenders and this contest could have a big bearing on the destination of the championship come May. The last meeting between the sides was a good laugh, with Dumbarton racking up four goals in 25 first-half minutes to eventually win 4-2, and Stenny actually playing well, despite the scoreline. That match in late August was Stenhousemuir's only league defeat of the season, and they've been in tremendous form lately with five consecutive wins. The Sons have been equally as impressive, with five consecutive victories in all competitions. I am pumped for this one - it's got a real top-of-the-table feeling to it. Adam Brown's suspension following his red card against Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic will force a reshuffle but it's a pretty straightforward swap with Ross Taylor poised to take his place. Taylor's had to make do with a number of cameo appearances in recent weeks and I've no doubt he'll be excited to play from the start. The rest of the team picks itself: - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Ross Taylor - - Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn - - Kinlay Bilham - Gregor Buchanan - Nicky Jamieson - Edin Lynch - - Darren Jamieson - Other than that daft 25-minute spell, where everything Dumbarton touched went in, we've looked defensively assured and we'll be counting on Buchanan and Jamieson once more. I fancy us a bit here - I'm not sure if we'll win but I don't think we'll lose either. Hopefully the pitch is in a playable condition. I'll see you all there!

Bonnyrigg Rose consistently have the best highlights in the business and they've captured Kieran McGachie's ridiculous dive in all its glory. Skip to 7:20 to see the big man at his very best!

I was delighted to see the club pay tribute to the great Donald Smilie by naming the Tryst Road terracing after him yesterday. The Donald Smilie Enclosure is a brilliant way to commemorate his 90th birthday and mark all the great things he's done for Stenhousemuir over the past few decades. What a man, and what a gesture!

On the whole, I think Stenhousemuir deserved the victory today, but that was a rotten game. I don't know what it is about Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic but every time we play them, they seem to bring out the worst in us and we abandon all pretence of "playing football" and deploy ugly, attritional tactics instead. It seems to work, nevertheless! We've now got a wee cushion at the top of the table, and that's something that should hold us in good stead for the time being. Our best players today were our two centre-halves and our left-back, which pretty much sums it up. Matty Aitken took his goal well, Matty Yates should have doubled our advantage, and Mikey Anderson and Nat Wedderburn performed to a decent standard. Outside of that, it was aggression, percentages and hard graft. Bonnyrigg are a competitive team, and you have to work very hard to get the better of them, but my word they're a brutal side to watch. They must have the worst assortment of strikers in the division - Alieu Faye was honking when the teams first met in September and Smart Osadolor was no better here. He spent most of the game offside, and other than a decent flick-on in the first half, did not involve himself to any great extent. Kieran McGachie, who came on to replace him midway through the second half, should have provided a different kind of threat but instead committed a series of daft fouls before collecting a second red card for diving. It was a pathetic showing from a player who has the potential to offer quite a bit to his team. Bonnyrigg's style of play must be grimly effective to some extent but I've yet to see any evidence of it across the six meetings between the teams since they joined the SPFL. Stenhousemuir have recorded five wins on the bounce now, an impressive run of form, and it felt a bit of a statement win - down to 10 men with 15 minutes to go against one of the toughest sides in the division, and we still found a way to keep them at arm's length and get three points. Adam Brown's dismissal for dissent was on the only black mark on the day. We go into next weekend's game with Dumbarton with a degree of confidence but I've got a feeling that, because of the Sons' appalling pitch, we won't see this game played until March or April next year. It could be a real six-pointer at the top of League 2! Let's hope it's on!

We've won every match we've played at New Dundas Park since Bonnyrigg Rose's promotion to the SPFL.

According to the Stenhousemuir FC Twitter account, Danny Jardine has left the club and is taking an indefinite break from football following the reoccurrence of a serious knee injury. I feel terribly sorry for Jardine - I can't imagine what it's like to suffer a long-term injury and work hard to regain your fitness, only for the same thing to happen again almost immediately. I wish him well in his recovery and hope he's back playing in some capacity in the future.

Edin Lynch hasn't done anything to merit losing his place at the moment and against a gang of hammer-throwers like Bonnyrigg, I'd be doubly keen to keep him in there for the time being! Ross Meechan's been okay this season. Not terrible at all, but not fabulous either. Just okay. He'll probably get a run-out with 20 minutes to go anyway; Gary Naysmith really seems to like subbing him on.

After a miserable weekend with zero football, we're back to the big boys' stuff when Stenhousemuir take on Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic at Ochilview. The sides have played each other five times since the Rose won promotion to the SPFL, and all five games have been hard, hard work. The last meeting, a 1-0 win to the Warriors at New Dundas Park back in September, was particularly brutal. The law of averages says that at least one games is going to be a good laugh, so why not this one! The home side come into this match in great form, winning four on the bounce. Stenhousemuir are playing well at the moment - we have a solid defence, the best player in the division in Michael Anderson (in my opinion!), and a strong array of attacking talent, with decent options in reserve. They'll come into this one as favourites but they're going to have to scrap and fight to get something from this Bonnyrigg team, who have arrested a sticky run with back-to-back victories. I don't think they're a particularly good team, and I find their approach tedious, but you have to admire their spirit and camaraderie. Stenny have been a bogey side for them and I've no doubt that will add an extra degree of motivation. Stenhousemuir will line up with the same XI that beat Peterhead and Stranraer: - Matty Aitken - - Euan O'Reilly - Matty Yates - Adam Brown - - Mikey Anderson - Nat Wedderburn - - Kinlay Bilham - Gregor Buchanan - Nicky Jamieson - Edin Lynch - - Darren Jamieson - I fancy Stenhousemuir for this one. Anything else and I'd be disappointed, quite frankly, but I'm under no illusion how difficult this encounter is going to be!

Someone might need to correct but I think the following players are signed up until the summer of 2025: Michael Anderson James Berry Kinlay Bilham Gregor Buchanan Ross Meechan Euan O'Reilly Ross Taylor I thought Darren Jamieson was signed up on a two-year deal but it appears to be a 12-month contract instead. Alas!

It does! Mikey Anderson has signed a new contract with Stenhousemuir until the summer of 2025. This is great news - I think Anderson is the best player in the division at the moment and his improvement at the club has been stark. He genuinely looked like he was plucked from the stands in his earlier games but he's developed into such a force in the middle of the park for us. I think he's got the ability to get even better too. What a way to start the weekend!

I hope this means what I think it means!

I was coming on to post something very similar to this - Andy Graham is probably the most charismatic person I've ever met and I'm positive he's going to make an excellent manager. I really hope he can fire the Wasps up the table and the club can enjoy a positive season.

It's good fun following Stenhousemuir at the moment. We're performing well in the division, playing some good football, and it feels like we're in with our best shot of winning a title since the 2005/06 season. But my favourite thing is the bond between the players and the supporters - after last night's match, Nicky Jamieson, Adam Brown, Gregor Buchanan, Mikey Anderson and Euan O'Reilly were in the Wee Bar with fans celebrating the result and talking about the game. They all seem like a great bunch of boys, always happy to have a chat, and it's a very endearing quality. Long may it continue! Also, Mr Naysmith, if you're reading this: sit down with Anderson and give the boy whatever he wants! What a player! Get him signed up now!

That really felt like a statement victory tonight. The first half was as good as I've seen us in some time and although we were under moderate pressure at points after the interval, it was a largely comfortable evening. It's not often you come away from beating the league leaders - who had won their previous six matches, by the way - complaining that you should have scored a couple more, but here we are. I really believe this side has what it takes to win the division and tonight confirmed it. Everyone played to a high standard today and everyone contributed something positive. The best player on the park was Mikey Anderson, again, whose passing, control and direct running saw us gain and advantage we would not relinquish. He opened the scoring, slamming Kinlay Bilham's low cross into the net, and then teed up Adam Brown for a goal-of-the-season contender. Anderson wasn't quite as dominant in the second half but always looked good in and out of possession. His improvement at the club has been extraordinary - one of the wretched "BSC lot" signed by Stephen Swift in the summer of 2021, there were points where he looked badly out of his depth in League 2, but he's blossomed over his two years to the point where he's the best midfielder in the division. It's credit to the player and to Gary Naysmith, who's entrusted him in the middle of the park, for his development. If it's not happening already, we really must look into extending his contract beyond the end of the season. Nicky Jamieson was also terrific at centre-back, heading away everything that came into his field of vision. As Peterhead ran out of ideas and lumped the ball forward, he was vital in making sure it never entered our penalty box. Jamieson was as important in the second half as Anderson was in the first. Brown's goal was breathtaking, the kind of thing you only ever see in a video game, and I can't wait to watch it back. He's another player who's flourishing in recent weeks. Ross Taylor's cameo was one of the most entertaining I can remember, and every single thing he did had you laughing. If only Matty Aitken had tucked away the chance at the death that began with Taylor slipping past two opponents on the flank! Everyone else's performance ranged from "very good" to "excellent"; it was a fun evening. Peterhead looked nippy in spells but never really threatened our goal. There were a couple of efforts on target, but they were straight at Darren Jamieson, and they created some mild consternation when they dribbled into our box, but these moments were fleeting, and Stenhousemuir withstood their moderate offence. By the end, all they had to offer was pumping the ball upfield in the hope Rory McAllister could knock something down for Kieran Shanks but it didn't happen; they could probably have played all evening without scoring. Joe McKee looked good, right enough, and his range of passing was always a danger. Let's hope this positive feeling continues and the team can take it to Stranraer on Saturday. Our record at Stair Park in recent years is not just poor, but we seem to reserve our very worst performances for Wigtown - Davie Irons' last match, some of Swift's dark days, our final visit there last season. If we can pick up three points here and finally put that crap run to bed, I fancy us a bit.

Sad to see the Carlo Pignatiello truthers have invaded this thread.

Is Michael Anderson the best central midfielder in League 2? Discuss.

Tomorrow's game is going to be enormous. It has the feeling of a title decider already. I can't wait!

That was one of the most complacent displays I've seen from Stenhousemuir in a long time. It was complacent all over the pitch - a lack of concentration and care at the back, a lack of aggression in the middle of the park, a lack of ruthlessness up front. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say we could have scored four times before the interval but the performance badly dipped after the restart; we didn't force Danny Gillan into a save. I think we underestimated how good a side Brora Rangers are. Look at Edin Lynch trying to dribble out from the back and losing possession, or Ross Meechan jogging after a ball over his head while the winger storms in on him. Kinlay Bilham shanked every set-piece out of play, Mark Ferrie contributed nothing and Marley Sweenie-Rowe looked like he was playing the game at 0.75 speed. I think only Euan O'Reilly can be happy with his performance but he dropped out of the game in the second half. Zak McKay looks like he has something about him, right enough. I think that's the angriest I've been at the football in a long time. I can handle losing but I don't want to see good players half-arsing their way through a Scottish Cup tie against presentable opposition. Some of these lads need to buck up their ideas!

As always, this is a polite reminder to watch A View from the Terrace tonight - it's on @ 10:30pm on the BBC Scotland channel and I think you'll really like it. This evening's show almost exclusively focuses on the Scotland national team - how we qualified for Euro 2024 and the laughs we had along the way. There's also an interview with Christophe Berra about bringing through the next generation of superstars - it's not to be missed! Many thanks.

LOC Hire have been very generous to the club in recent years. Please show them some respect!