Largs Thistle captain Scott Adam says the club must put their recent cup disappointments behind them as they look to get their season back on track.

After a run of five defeats in their last six games, Thistle face a stern test in their final match of 2023 - against league leaders Clydebank at Holm Park, a ground that has proved a tough venue for Largs in recent season.

Adam says he believes the team will need to work hard to get themselves out of their recent rut - which has seen Thistle knocked out of three cup competitions in the space of four weeks, and continued with a 4-3 league loss at home to Troon in their last game before Christmas.

Writing in the club's match programme, Adam said: "It's been a challenging couple of weeks for me personally and for everyone at the club.

"I picked up a calf strain, similar to the one earlier in the season, before the Lochee game (in the Scottish Junior Cup), and I had to miss two key matches. I was desperate to play in those games, but it was not to be.

"We had been hoping to keep at least one cup run going beyond Christmas. It's particularly disappointing when you consider that we felt we could have won both games.

"For us to be two goals up against Lochee and fail to win the game was a real blow. I thought we played well in the first half - we were by far the better side and could easily have been more than two goals up.

"But we lost our way in the second half and going down to 10 men didn't help.

"I felt that the game against Glenafton in the West of Scotland Cup a week later was a bit of a hangover from that result, and we never reached anything like the heights we had in the first half against Lochee.

"It's always tough to go to Glenafton - and they had a new manager bounce, that so often happens when a new man comes in.

"It was scrappy, as it usually is down there, and we never imposed ourselves in the way we would have liked.

"After we conceded first, we pushed hard, but left too many gaps at the back and ultimately that is what cost us the game.

"We can't dwell on those results and it's up to us to lift ourselves. As a more experienced player and club captain, I have to help younger lads do that. 

"We can't let the season slip away. There are plenty of points to play for and we must get as many as we can. We can set targets as a team and as individuals to help give the remaining games a real sense of importance. 

"None of that will be possible without hard work and there is no better time to start than against Clydebank on Saturday."

Thistle's last game against the Bankies ended in a 2-0 home defeat way back in mid-August, while their two trips to Holm Park last season - in the league and the South Challenge Cup - both ended in defeat for the visitors.

Clydebank opened up a six-point advantage at the top of the table after winning at Glenafton in their last game before Christmas, while Gordon Moffat's men haven't lost at home in the league since they were bested by Benburb on the opening day of the season at the end of  July.

Looking towards the big fixture, manager Stuart Davidson said: "Clydebank are pushing on well and they are looking to get promotion.

"From our point of view, it doesn't get much tougher after our recent 4-3 defeat to Troon.

"We can't be soft and be conceding goals in that manner or we will be punished. We have got to put on a good performance from the off, and make it happen."

Davidson's players trained on Boxing Day and will hold another session this Thursday in preparation for Saturday's match, which gets under way at 1.30pm.