Bryan Hay is hoping Fraserburgh can end their Premier Sports Cup campaign on a high having thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
The Broch face Partick Thistle at Firhill tonight in their final group B tie.
This is the first time the Buchan side have played in the competition and thus far they have yet to pick up a point following defeats to Kilmarnock, Montrose and Stenhousemuir.
But defender Hay remains upbeat ahead of the Breedon Highland League champions’ clash with Championship Partick.
The 33-year-old said: “It’s going to be another massive test for us, some of the boys will have to roll up the sleeves and play again.
“Firhill is a big pitch as well, which will make it harder for us.
“But we don’t feel we’ve quite done ourselves justice yet in this group. We’ve done all-right, but we’ve let ourselves down at times.
“Hopefully we can do ourselves justice and finish with a bit of a bang.”
Great experience for Hay
Despite the defeats Hay has relished Fraserburgh’s involvement in the League Cup.
He believes the opportunity to face sides from the SPFL is excellent preparation for the Broch ahead of their Highland League opener at home to Deveronvale this weekend.
He added: “It’s been brilliant to be involved in the League Cup, it’s competitive games, but it is also still pre-season for us.
“It’s different to the games we would normally have been playing at this time of the year.
“Playing sides like Kilmarnock, Montrose and Stenhousemuir has been really good and it should stand us in good stead going into the new season.
“The standard is very high and there were times on Saturday against Stenny when we were chasing shadows.
“The main objective is to be ready for the league season, but at the same time you want to test yourself against the best opposition possible.
“At times we’ve been short of bodies at times, but some of our youth players have come in and done well.
“Some of us have played almost every minute of every game, I’ve been one of them and hopefully come the start of the league season I’ll be flying.
“When some of the other lads get back fit and firing, they’ll make a big difference to us as well.”
Learning from Laff
Hay has started all three of Fraserburgh’s League Cup ties and particularly enjoyed the challenge of playing against Kilmarnock striker Kyle Lafferty.
The man, who has made 471 appearances for Broch, said: “It’s great to play against guys like Kyle Lafferty.
“He’s had a great career winning leagues with Rangers, scoring a lot of goals and playing at a major tournament with Northern Ireland.
“To come up against those kind of guys is a brilliant experience.
“It’s also good for boys in our team to see what they do and maybe take bits of that into their own game.
“I know it’s a different level, but the movement of these teams and the way they play are things we should be aspiring to do.
“Ryan Sargent for example has started the season really well and – as a young player – if he sees the way somebody like Kyle Lafferty operates, hopefully he can pick up one or two things from that.”
