Nairn County defender Callum Maclean hopes adrenaline can help his side cause a Scottish Cup upset against League One side Montrose at Station Park tonight.
County return from nearly three months out of action when they host the Gable Endies tonight, in their first game since the Highland League was suspended due to Covid-19 in January.
Ronnie Sharp’s men have only played two league fixtures, the last of which was against Formartine United on January 2, however Scottish Cup victories against Threave Rovers and Broxburn Athletic have set up tonight’s second round tie.
Montrose returned from a similar absence in their 2-0 league defeat to Falkirk on Saturday, but Maclean hopes the eagerness to return to action can compensate for the lack of match practice.
Maclean said: “Getting back to training for the first couple of sessions was a wee bit of a shock to the system. I been out for runs, but it is a totally different type of fitness running 5k to playing a game of football.
“We have had two full weeks of training now though. We are probably more fortunate than the likes of Brora or Buckie who are playing teams that have played throughout. We are playing a team in the same boat as us, albeit they are probably more seasoned pros.
“They have a few loan players who might have had the same sort of training, if not games.
“I’ve heard of other teams playing friendlies, but we have taken the view that adrenaline will probably get us through the game.
“We’ve just been trying to get to a level where we’ve not got heavy legs going into the game, as we are going to be stiff after our first game in months.”
Although tonight’s Angus opponents are enjoying a fine campaign and sit third in League One, Maclean reckons Stewart Petrie’s men will not relish the midweek trip to the Highlands.
The 29-year-old added: “I know if I played for Montrose I wouldn’t fancy coming up to Nairn after work on a Tuesday night.
“That’s got to be an element of the game.
“It’s just a shame there’s no crowd in. It takes a bit of the trickiness away from it as an away tie for them.
“We’ve just got to try and create an atmosphere ourselves.
“We’ve definitely got a good chance. With the draws that other Highland League clubs have got, there are certainly opportunities to get some big ties.”
A third round tie away to fellow Highland League side Fraserburgh awaits the winners of tonight’s game, which Maclean feels adds a further incentive for his side to progress.
Maclean added: “Personally I enjoy a bit of normality. The motivation has to be that if we win we get to carry on and train a bit more.
“Fraserburgh will also be looking at us as being a real opportunity to get to the next round. We certainly showed we can compete with them when we played them at Station Park earlier in the season.
“We would certainly look at that as an opportunity to get far on in the competition and hopefully get a big team.
“We’ve got
Montrose returned from a similar absence in their 2-0 league defeat to Falkirk on Saturday, but Maclean hopes the eagerness to return to action can compensate for the lack of match practice.
Maclean said: “Getting back to training for the first couple of sessions was a wee bit of a shock to the system. I been out for runs, but it is a totally different type of fitness running 5k to playing a game of football.
“We have had two full weeks of training now though. We are probably more fortunate than the likes of Brora or Buckie who are playing teams that have played throughout. We are playing a team in the same boat as us, albeit they are probably more seasoned pros.
“They have a few loan players who might have had the same sort of training, if not games.
“I’ve heard of other teams playing friendlies, but we have taken the view that adrenaline will probably get us through the game.
“We’ve just been trying to get to a level where we’ve not got heavy legs going into the game, as we are going to be stiff after our first game in months.”
Although tonight’s Angus opponents are enjoying a fine campaign and sit third in League One, Maclean reckons Stewart Petrie’s men will not relish the midweek trip to the Highlands.
The 29-year-old added: “I know if I played for Montrose I wouldn’t fancy coming up to Nairn after work on a Tuesday night.
“That’s got to be an element of the game.
“It’s just a shame there’s no crowd in. It takes a bit of the trickiness away from it as an away tie for them.
“We’ve just got to try and create an atmosphere ourselves.
“We’ve definitely got a good chance. With the draws that other Highland League clubs have got, there are certainly opportunities to get some big ties.”
A third round tie away to fellow Highland League side Fraserburgh awaits the winners of tonight’s game, which Maclean feels adds a further incentive for his side to progress.
Maclean added: “Personally I enjoy a bit of normality. The motivation has to be that if we win we get to carry on and train a bit more.
“Fraserburgh will also be looking at us as being a real opportunity to get to the next round. We certainly showed we can compete with them when we played them at Station Park earlier in the season.
“We would certainly look at that as an opportunity to get far on in the competition and hopefully get a big team.
“We’ve got to concentrate on Montrose first though.”
