Michael Kennedy has his sights set on the last 16 of the Scottish Cup – despite facing one of the most in-form teams in the country.
West of Scotland League side Darvel head to Arbroath in the fourth round of Scotland’s most prestigious competition and the Vale gaffer knows they are facing an uphill task.
But despite the Lichties being one of the most talked about clubs in the UK, Kennedy wants to bag a positive result at Gayfield.
Arbroath are doing an incredible job this season as they lie four points clear at the top of the Scottish Championship despite being the only part-time team in the league – ahead of the likes of Kilmarnock, Inverness and Partick Thistle.
Kennedy has heaped praise on Dick Campbell’s side – but he wants to stop the red-hot steam train in its tracks.
Vale couldn’t be heading into the clash in any better form as they are unbeaten in 13, 12 of them being victories.
Kennedy told the Kilmarnock Standard: “They are probably one of the most in-form teams in the country at the moment. I have watched them and you can see why they are doing so well, they are really well organised.
“There are top professionals throughout the full team, there’s a clear identity and the players know exactly what their jobs are and what they need to do.
“It will be a massive test, no doubt about that, they are doing a remarkable job.
“They are a part-time team in a full-time league, watching them you would never know that, that’s testament to the management team and the players in the squad.
“They are dedicated and that’s why they’re maintaining it, we are nearly at the end of January and they are still sitting top, it’s astonishing, and great credit to Dick and everyone else.
“I think they will be in about it at the end of the season to be honest.”
Kennedy added: “It’s a formidable task, but it’s one we will relish and look forward to. We will stick to our game plan and try and go there to dominate the ball as best we can and we will see how we get on.
“I don’t doubt the task in front of us, they are a fantastic side, but we have got real quality in our team, boys who have played at that level.
“We will go up there and try and impose ourselves, I don’t think it would be wise to go up there and try sitting in, they would beat us if we tried to match their style.
“I will be putting pressure on the boys to go up there and try to get a positive result.
“The thing about Dick is that they won’t underestimate us and they won’t expect it to be easy, they will be fully prepared for us.
“We are going up there to play a good Arbroath side who want to get into the next round, it’s a really daunting task.
“It will be a really tough and demanding game, I know a few of their boys and they have fantastic players.
“But it’s something we are all looking forward to, it’s going to be a fantastic occasion for the club and the fans. To get this far in the Scottish Cup is great, and it’s going to be special.”
Kennedy has likened Arbroath’s style to their West of Scotland League Premier Division rivals Auchinleck Talbot.
He said: “They are very well organised, they get the ball into the final third early as they possibly can.
“They then go into areas to play and they pin you in and it’s difficult to get out at times.
“They are quite similar to Auchinleck to be fair, in terms of getting the ball into the final third fast, they are really aggressive, Auchinleck are very successful with that and so are Arbroath.”
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