Cove Rangers boss Paul Hartley believes his side have the quality to trouble anybody as they prepare for a Scottish Cup tussle with Alloa Athletic.
Today’s game, which means a reunion for Hartley and the club he took into the Championship from League Two, presents Cove with the chance to get through to the third round of the competition.
League One is their priority, with the Aberdeen side sitting second in the table after 11 games, but the Scottish Cup presents an opportunity to generate a buzz around the club.
In the last two seasons, they have been knocked out early by junior side Auchinleck Talbot, but face a significant step up as they face Alloa at Recreation Park.
Hartley said: “You want to try and get through. We’ve always said the league is the most important and we’re going up against a really good team.
📺 Here’s the PPV details for Saturday’s @ScottishCup tie against Alloa Athletic 👇 https://t.co/du9CzmDNsS
— Cove Rangers FC (@CoveRangersFC) January 5, 2021
“They’re one of the best footballing teams in the division. They’ve got a lot of good players and I’ve seen a lot of Alloa over the last wee while.
“We’re capable of beating anybody. We’ve got to make sure we’re at it and organised. We’ll go down there and give them a good game.
“If we can do what we’ve been doing the last few games, being hard to beat and getting clean sheets, we’ve got a chance.”
Cove came through the festive period with two wins under their belt – both 1-0 against Peterhead and Forfar Athletic – and have begun to build up some momentum again after a difficult period.
Hartley added: “We’re trying to keep players as right as we can. We had a couple of knocks after the game last weekend.
“The two wins were really important for us – it gets your momentum going. You always think of the Christmas and New Year period as really important to try come through it unscathed, with as many points as you can.”