Stirling Albion striker Steven Doris says a win against East Fife on Saturday would go a long way towards boosting the Binos’ promotion ambitions.

The two sides have already met five times this season, with Stirling winning just one of those encounters thanks to Doris’ free kick in a Scottish Cup replay, and the visitors come into the game sitting proudly on top of the League Two table.

However, Albion’s top scorer believes the clash gives them a great opportunity to lay down a marker and show their rivals they mean business as the race for the playoffs enters its final stages.

Doris told Stirling News Sport: “Every time we have played East Fife this season it has been a difficult game. We need the three points as much as they do so hopefully that means it will be a good game and I am hoping I can get myself on the scoresheet again.

“The three points will be crucial given how late it is in the season and the gap that is opening up between ourselves and the playoff places. We have to show teams that we want to break into that top four.”

The Binos have suffered something of a slump in recent weeks, and they now lie five points outside the top four, but Doris reckons promotion is still within their reach and backed them to do the business in the final weeks of the season.

“Of course the boys believe promotion is still realistic. The target at the start of the season was to go and win the league and that might be out of our reach now but we are only five points off the playoffs. There are still seven games left to play so it is all to play for.”

The 27-year-old has been a stand-out performer for Albion this season, overcoming injury to chip in with eleven goals, and he admitted he was delighted to have been rewarded with February’s League Two player of the month award.

Doris added: “It’s good to have the hard work that I’ve put in noticed by others and it is a good achievement. It’s good to be back scoring goals and getting a run of games without an injury because I have had a few bad injuries over the past couple of seasons. It’s nice to be back playing regularly.”