Willie Harvey has told his Rutherglen Glencairn side to beat Gartcairn and redeem themselves for a crushing 5-0 defeat against Johnstone Burgh.
Glens head into the Scottish Junior Cup fourth round clash at MTC Park in Airdrie on the back of a defeat that Harvey branded “unacceptable”.
And he says his players now need to prove to him that they’re up for the fight, as they face a cup double-header against Gartcairn in ‘The Scottish’ on Saturday, and Renfrew in the West of Scotland Cup second round on Saturday, December 10.
“We’ve got two cup games,” he said.
“Gartcairn will be a really hard one for us, but it’s maybe a chance for the players to redeem themselves.
“We’ll have a discussion this week, we’ll get everything out of the way.
“I’m a great believer that the past is passed, it’s gone, you can’t do anything about it, you can only look to the future and make up for it.
“They will be left in no uncertain manner of what I expect from them this week.
“The players know exactly how I feel about it, they were told after the game exactly how I feel about it.
“I will not accept a lack of fight. I will accept defeats every time if the team is better than us, but I will not accept a Glencairn team that does not fight.
“They know how much they’ve got to make up to the supporters and to the committee.
“We’re looking for a massive reaction.”
Harvey says he needs to see that Glencairn are up for a fight that will be required if they are to challenge at the top end of the table this season, but won’t accept anybody who feels sorry for themselves.
He said: “We hope to go on a run at some point and see where it takes us.
“We’re not giving up the fight yet, it’s not a case of throwing in the towel, but if we had picked up a win on Saturday we could have got ourselves round about the middle of the table and then been ready for a charge after the holidays.
“But if any players turn up for training feeling sorry for themselves they’ll be sent away.
“If any players are moping about they’ll be told to go home, because they’ll be no use to me.
“It’s who wants to fight now, and who is up for the challenge.”
Glencairn’s game on Saturday has been moved to a 2pm kick-off.
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