Shotts Bon Accord boss John McKeown knows his side will be up against it to reach the Junior Cup semi-finals, but his past experience with Wishaw tells him they can pull off a giant-killing when they host Auchinleck Talbot.
The West of Scotland Conference A high-flyers welcome the Premier Division title favourites to Hannah Park on Saturday as huge underdogs.
Aside from their league exploits, Talbot knocked Scottish Championship side Hamilton Accies out of the Scottish Cup this term and are 13-time winners of the Junior equivalent.
Shotts - two time winners with triumphs in 1958 and 2012 - stand in their way of getting a step closer to a 14th success but McKeown has faith in his squad that they are capable of pulling off an upset.
And McKeown, who did just that back in 2012 when his Wishaw side sent Talbot tumbling out of the West Cup, said: “You don’t get much bigger giants at our level than Auchinleck.
“I’ve come up against them quite a few times over the years. I beat them when I was at Wishaw and then I went to Cumnock and played them quite often.
“Nobody expected us to beat them when I was at Wishaw and we did. We were in the second division at that time and a young, up- and-coming team, but we managed to pull off a shock in the West of Scotland Cup.
“We were 20/1 that day so it can be done if you believe in your team and your players. And I trust our guys to put on a good show on Saturday. If we can perform well we’ll have a chance.
“With home advantage and the way we’ve been playing, we believe we can cause a wee surprise.
“Everybody is excited for it. Our academy teams are going to be there as well to cheer us on so it will be a big day for the club.”
It’s a meeting of two form teams with The Bonny on an eight-game winning streak and Talbot on a six-game unbeaten run.
And McKeown added: “They are a formidable opponent but we are looking forward to it. We are in a good place and our form this season has been good. We had a good result on Friday night again [beating Glasgow Uni 4-1).
“We go into it with no pressure because everyone is expecting them to win.”
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