There’s nowhere left to hide, and if they want to be viewed as more than just making up the numbers in finals, the Devils have to put wins on the board.

Wangaratta City FC’s senior men’s team will have to play three matches in the space of seven days to round out their home and away season, commencing this weekend with an away trip to Cobram to play the Roar.

Due to last Sunday’s matches being postponed due to poor ground condition, the Devils have a midweek showdown at home against rivals Myrtleford Savoy on Wednesday, sandwiched in between Sunday matches against Cobram and St Pats.

Sitting seventh on the ladder and winless from their last four outings, coach Vitaly Leschen said they had to start putting results on the board.

“We need to start winning games of football, if we are to build any confidence or momentum going into finals,” he said.

“The back end of the year hasn’t been what we wanted or expected.

“Our aim in the back end of the year was to push for top four, top three, and obviously that hasn’t happened, and key injuries and a couple of bad results have changed that.

“We’ll be going into finals with the aim of knocking off teams for three weeks, we have the quality to do it, but the truth is while we have the quality to do it, while we talk about doing it, we haven’t done it.

“It really matters what we do on the pitch, and that starts this weekend against Cobram.”

This next week will prove if Wangaratta is trending in the right direction as a senior football side.

While they have been impacted by injuries to senior players, the Devils should be close to full strength for their encounter with Roar.

However, with heavy grounds due to recent rainfall and the quick turnaround between their games, player management and squad depth will be vital.

“We’ll be as close to full strength as we can,” Leschen said.

“Probably the only player still recovering is Raul [Pahina], I think he will be on the bench this weekend.

“He’s coming back from a knee injury so the wet and muddy pitches aren’t ideal for that recovery, so we’ll play that one by ear, be smart with it and see if we can get him back without risking him too much.

“It gets a bit of a logistical nightmare at this time of the year when you throw another game in.

“In my mind, games are better than practice – as long as we manage the load, it will bode well going into finals.”

The Devils take on Roar at Cobram’s Apex Park on Sunday, with senior men’s to play from 3pm.

Meanwhile, Wangaratta can lock in the division two league title with a win this weekend against the second-placed Roar.

The Lady Devils currently sit just two points ahead of Roar with two matches remaining – lose this weekend, and Wangaratta will need Albury Hotspurs to defeat Cobram on the last matchday, while themselves defeating St Pats, to claim glory.

Coming off the bye after sustaining their first loss of the season against the ‘Spurs, women’s coach Kristy Mellor said it was one of the most important matches of the year.

“It’s a big game this weekend, but we’ll look to play a simple game,” she said.

“We’ll push players forward and plan an attacking game – attack is the best form of defence.

“Cobram will be strong at home, the girls will need to want it more than them, but it should be a cracker of a game to watch.”

The women’s match commences at 10am.