Gavin Price insists his Elgin City side must believe their Scottish Cup trip to in-form Championship hosts Ayr United is a real chance to make the last eight.
Lee Bullen’s Honest Men have had a terrific campaign and sit just four behind behind surprise second-tier front-runners Queen’s Park with just 13 games to go.
Elgin are in League Two and a bit of a dip since the turn of the year has seen them drop down to mid-table.
However, manager Price insists his team, including 25-goal Kane Hester and 14-goal Russell Dingwall, have every reason to believe they can cause an upset.
He said: “This is definitely a test for us, but it is also an opportunity for us to get to the quarter-finals of a national cup and that’s something, as a club, we don’t get the opportunity to do very often.
SCOTTISH CUP
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— Elgin City F.C. (@ElginCityFC) February 5, 2023
90 minutes from the last eight
“We must ensure we give ourselves every opportunity of doing that.
“We go into the game confident we can get a result. If we work hard, concentrate and take our chances when they come along, then we will have that opportunity to get through.
“We’re 90 minutes away from a quarter-final, which would be something special.
“We’re looking forward to it and hopefully there will be no regrets come 5pm on Saturday.
“We have got to be positive, with the attacking options we have at our disposal. We want to set up in a way that gives us the best chance of winning the game.
“There’s no doubt we have got good threats going forward and I see no reason why we can’t have a real go on Saturday.”
Friday journey will be help for Elgin
Price explained hitting the road the day before the match will aid Elgin’s preparations.
He said: “All our focus is on this tie. It’s one game, a one-off chance to reach the quarter-finals.
“If we give it our all and get the breaks then we can be in the quarter-finals and that’s what we’re concentrating on.
“We travelled down on Friday, which allows us to do a bit of work with the squad and takes out the Saturday travel and fatigue.”
No slip-ups v non-league teams earned city cup crack at Ayr
Elgin have beaten lower-level opponents Camelon Juniors, Hill of Beath Hawthorn and Drumchapel United to reach this stage in the Scottish Cup.
Ayr, meanwhile, have beaten Pollok and Cove Rangers to set up this Somerset Park showdown.
City manager Price says taking on the underdog role in a tie this time will suit his side.
He added: “You have got to beat who is in front of you and they’ve not been easy games, that’s for sure.
“We’ve done what was required to get through and it will be roles reversed on Saturday where we will be the underdogs.
“In the past. we’ve relished being in that position at Elgin, so we’re confident and we’ve got to believe we can do it.”
Early draw in Ayr won’t matter now
Elgin drew 0-0 at Ayr last July in the group stages of the League Cup before losing on penalties in what was their very first match of the season.
That fine effort, however, came to nothing as Elgin were punished with a 3-0 defeat for playing Darryl McHardy, who should have been suspended.
It was still a strong performance from Elgin, but Price expects both sides have come on leaps and bounds since that afternoon.
He said: “That game was right at the start of the season and you are more likely to get teams not yet fully flowing, but it was similar for ourselves – it took us a while to get going this season.
“Ayr this season have done exceptionally well, so this will be a different challenge compared to the first game of the season. But we might well be a different challenge to them as well.”
City have a few players aiming to shake off knocks, but Price insists he’ll have his strongest available squad ready for kick-off.
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