Nairn County’s Scott Davidson has been inspired to make his mark in the Scottish Cup – just like his dad.
The Wee County welcome West of Scotland League First Division side Drumchapel United to Station Park this weekend in round one.
Davidson’s father, Roddie, enjoyed plenty of Scottish Cup success with Inverness Caledonian in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
The then-Breedon Highland League outfit defeated Scottish League opposition like Stenhousemuir, Albion Rovers, Stirling Albion, Berwick Rangers, Alloa Athletic, Airdrieonians and Clyde.
Davidson junior said: “My dad has told me about a few of the Scottish Cup runs he had and ties he won.
“He won quite a lot of Scottish Cup ties, so I might struggle to break his records.
“But the Scottish Cup is one of the best competitions in the world. It’s something you always look forward to because there’s the potential to get some good ties.
“It does inspire me to try to make my mark in the competition.”
Davidson believes one of the great things about the Scottish Cup is that it gives Highland League players the chance to make an impact on the national stage.
The 28-year-old added: “I also remember a few years ago being at a Celtic-Rangers semi-final at Hampden and on the screens they showed the top goalscorers and Buckie’s John McLeod was among the top scorers.
“That’s what dreams are made of really – there was 50,000 inside Hampden and they were seeing John McLeod Buckie Thistle in the goalscoring charts.
“I would love if one day I could do something like that.”
County in need of a lift
Nairn have yet to win this season and Davidson hopes their fortunes will change in the Scottish Cup.
He said: “If we could get through, it would give us a boost – we’re in a bit of a bad place at the moment.
“We need to pull our socks up and try to come through it, but since the Forres game (5-0 loss on August 6) it’s been difficult.
“We’ve losing silly goals, we’ve been making silly mistakes, myself included.
“It’s hard to pinpoint why things aren’t going so well, but we’ve got to try to knuckle down, get through it and make things better.”
