Arthurlie boss Craig Palmer paid a glowing tribute to Darvel for doing their level proud after their famous Scottish Cup win against Aberdeen.
But he hopes home advantage can help the Barrhead club bring them crashing back down to earth this weekend.
Arthurlie welcome the WoSFL Premier Division leaders to Dunterlie Park tomorrow afternoon hoping to give their own survival hopes a huge boost.
And while heaping praise of Mick Kennedy’s men for their incredible upset against Jim Goodwin’s dreadful Dons, Palmer insists his side will be going all out to spoil the end of the Ayrshire side’s historic week.
Palmer told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “I’m good pals with Mick. I wished him good luck before the Aberdeen game and I could tell he was confident heading into it.
“They looked like the better side. Willie Miller, an Aberdeen legend, said at half-time he couldn’t tell which was the Premiership team and which was the West of Scotland team, which says a huge amount.
“It was an absolutely remarkable achievement and they should be so proud of themselves. No-one really gave them a chance but they’ve gone and beaten the fourth or fifth best team in Scotland.
“They did our level proud. It just goes to show how strong this league is and that some teams at this level could easily compete in the SPFL.
“Hopefully they are knackered coming to Dunterlie. That kind of performance will take a lot out of them mentally and physically, but their squad is so strong. They’ve got boys on the bench who were playing League One football last season.
“It’s a shot to nothing for us. They’re the best team in the league for me but I still feel we can beat them, one million per cent.
“We’ll give them a tough game and they certainly won’t like coming to Dunterlie. We will do all we can to pick up all three points.”
Arthurlie have struggled at the top end of the pitch since returning from the winter break, failing to score in their first three games of 2023.
After losing Gary Smith to injury, and seeing Aaron Healy and Tam McGaughey join Queen’s Park and Neilston respectively in recent months, Palmer is on the hunt for strikers to give the Barrhead side a more clinical edge as they aim to extend their stay in the top flight.
Palmer said: “We were decent last weekend against Troon. They edged the first half, but the second half we had five or six good chances to grab a winner and never took one.
“I’ve already got one attacking player agreed to join up soon and I’m on the hunt for one more.
“We’ve lost a lot goals from the team recently in terms of Smith, Healy and McGaughey. We need a bit of reinforcement in that area for the run in because we can’t keep passing up chances to win matches.”
READ MORE:
Don't miss the latest Renfrewshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
