If you’re going to be without half of your best squad, it’s better to face teams on the lower end of the ladder.

Wangaratta City FC’s senior men’s team is in the midst of an injury quagmire, with three fresh casualties from the weekend joining a growing list of starting players set for extended stints on the sidelines.

Coach Vitaly Leschen said the situation wasn’t ideal, but there was plenty of talent to pull from.

“Raul Pahina’s out with a knee for a couple of weeks, Stoycho’s [Ivanov] out with a back, Lachie Campbell’s unavailable, Ash Prim [Primerano] is out with a groin strain, and Jamie Roban who is a new Irish player is out with shin splints,” he said.

“While quality, leadership, all of that is impacted, the players we have to come in are all deserving of opportunity and will all bring their own qualities to their team.

“The boys coming in are expected to match the standards of the team in terms of what we’re about and how we play.

“At this point, with the number of injuries we have, some of the boys coming in probably haven’t experienced senior football yet, and that’s where I expect the boys who have to pick up additional responsibility and shoulder the responsibility, so the boys getting their opportunity can just enjoy playing a game of football for 90 minutes.

“We’ve got Go Ashby, Hamish Gasser and Hayden Winter all potentially coming in for Lachie Campbell, and then we’re probably looking at Connor Delaney coming back into the team to fill Jamie’s spot on the weekend.

“We’re in a lucky position where we’ve got a lot of talent.”

While no game is a given, the Devils’ opponents this weekend have had a rough season, with Diamonds sitting second bottom on the ladder with only three wins to their name.

Leschen said they were not treating the match as guaranteed three points – the rag-tag squad needed to perform on the pitch.

“Whoever comes in needs to do the job and we need to win,” he said.

“With the way the season’s panning out, these opportunities against the lower teams don’t necessarily carry the same amount of weight like in previous years.

“Hopefully we’re in a position now where we’re going to be making finals whether we finish fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh, we still have to beat every team we’re going to have to beat anyway.”

The senior Devils play Wodonga Diamonds this Sunday from 3pm at LaTrobe University Ground.

Meanwhile, the division two women’s team takes on the fifth-placed Diamonds from 9.30am.