Gary Locke only has Cowdenbeath’s safety on his mind

Gary Locke wants to lead Cowdenbeath to safety in Ladbrokes League 2 before deciding where his managerial future lies.

The Blue Brazil boss only took over the team in March when they sat seven points adrift at the bottom of the table without a win in 15 games.

But he’s turned things around since, losing just three of 10 matches to cut that gap to three points going into the final game of the season this weekend.

Goal difference means that if Cowdenbeath win and relegation rivals Clyde or Berwick lose, they could stay up.

So that’s all Locke is concentrating on before he decides on what he’ll be doing next season after his contract at Central Park expires.

In an exclusive Ladbrokes News interview, Locke said: “Myself and Billy have been absolutely delighted with the response from the players since we’ve come in.

“When I took the job, the chairman painted a bleak picture, but the fact we go into the last game with even a wee chance of avoiding the play-offs – albeit needing favours from other teams – is testament to how well the boys have done.

“I’d have taken that when we first come in – we were miles adrift. I think a lot of people had accepted they were going to be in the play-offs, but the fact we’ve won a few games and drawn a few games and managed to drag other teams back into it is evidence of how well we’ve done.

“I’ve never been overly bothered about other teams’ results. It’s just a case of concentrating on doing as well as we possibly can. If we win our game against Elgin, which is going to be really difficult because they’re fighting to get into the top four, we give ourselves a chance of staying up. If we don’t win our game, it doesn’t really matter what happens anywhere else anyway.

“It’s a really tight league. Last weekend against Forfar, I felt we were well in control of the game and, unfortunately, we were on the end of a poor decision from the referee and we lose a man.

“If you lose a man against a team like Forfar, you’re always going to be struggling. “But I thought the boys were brilliant, even with ten men. Forfar got the equaliser, but I thoroughly believe we deserved to win the game.

“In the past two weeks, we’ve played Forfar and Arbroath, the best two teams in the league, and I certainly don’t think those teams were miles better than us.

“I took this job because obviously I know the chairman Donald Findlay very well and I was keen to get involved when you’re out of the game – you miss the buzz on a Saturday.

“I’m hopeful something will come up in the summer, whether it be first team coach, manager or assistant manager. It’d be great to go back full-time, but I’m well aware how difficult getting opportunities like that can be.

“I’m just concentrating on keeping Cowdenbeath in the league, that’d be a great achievement. I’ve enjoyed being manager here, it’s a great wee club and I’ll weigh things up in the summer.”

Cowdenbeath are priced at 11/4 to beat Elgin at the weekend and give themselves a chance of staying up.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing