Buckie Thistle manager Graeme Stewart feels tonight’s SPFL Trust Trophy encounter with Brechin City will be a welcome chance to gauge the threat of their new Highland League rivals.
Brechin, who were relegated from League Two last season, have home advantage for the intriguing tie between two sides, who have racked up maximum points in the Highland League so far.
Stewart regards the Angus outfit as favourites and expects them to be firmly in the mix for the league title, but hopes the Jags can show they are ready to be in the mix as well.
He said: “Brechin are definitely going to be up there challenging. We need to go there and show we can compete, and if we can compete with them we should be able to compete with anyone in the league.
“It’s a good gauge as they are coming down a league, so they are under a bit of pressure to go back after spending a bit of money.
“We are looking forward to the game and seeing where we are compared to them.
“They will be favourites because they are at home, and they have come from the SPFL.
“We’ve just got to do our best. If we play as well as we have been playing, we’ve got a chance, and that’s all we can hope for.”
Stewart has been pleased with his side’s opening six matches, with their most recent outing an emphatic 10-0 victory over Keith on Saturday.
The Jags have twice lost to Formartine United in the Evening Express Aberdeenshire Cup, with last season’s competition having been completed this summer, but Stewart says the two defeats have done little to dent Thistle’s confidence.
Stewart added: “We are playing well. Even in the two games we have not won in the cup against Formartine, we were very good.
“We have won all our games in the league, and I don’t think we could play those two cup games again and not score seven or eight goals.
“Confidence is high, we have got a lot of attacking players and I think all of them are off the mark now. Every striker and midfielder has scored so far, which is great.
“The most important thing is the clean sheets, that’s three in the league and four in five including the cup. I’m delighted with that.
“That’s breeding the confidence into the team.”
Stewart is awaiting news on striker Adam Macleod, who was substituted after netting twice against Keith on Saturday, while Lewis MacKinnon, Hamish Munro and Scott Adams are sidelined with knocks.
Declan Milne remains out long-term, but is on the road to recovery following a hernia operation.
Should Buckie progress through tonight’s tie, they will face an away trip to Championship side Caley Thistle, with Stewart excited by the prospect of another meeting with his former club.
He added: “Quite a few boys have got connections, we have got seven boys from Inverness.
“Andy MacAskill, Kevin Fraser, Lewis MacKinnon and myself all played there full-time, while some played as youths and have friends there.
“We had the Scottish Cup tie when they beat us 3-2 in a very close game. That was a great for us, that was when our confidence started increasing.
“We felt that if we could put in a performance like that, we could do something in the Highland League.
“It would be great to get another game against them and see if we could go one better, but first things first we’ve got to beat Brechin.”
