For Jordan MacDonald leading Clachnacuddin to their first North of Scotland Cup triumph since 2001 would be a landmark success.
After taking charge of the Lilywhites two years ago, MacDonald has set about rejuvenating the Inverness outfit.
In defeating Wick Academy 3-0 in the quarter-final and Rothes 4-1 in the semi-final, Clach have set up a final date against Brora Rangers at Grant Street Park on Saturday.
Their last final appearance was in 2014 when they claimed the GPH Builders Merchants Highland League Cup.
Looking ahead to the showpiece occasion, boss MacDonald said: “It’s massive for the club, it shows the progress that we’ve made in the two years we’ve been here.
“It’s 21 years since the club won the North of Scotland Cup.
“That’s a long time and it’s eight years since the club has been in a final and won something, so there’s no getting away from how big it is for us.
“It’s great for the players and all the people on the board who run the club, these people are always there and for them this is what it’s all about.
“You aim to reach finals and win trophies, especially at a club the size of Clach.
“We should be aiming to reach finals and win trophies, but these things don’t happen easily.
“You have to earn them and we have earned this opportunity because we’ve beaten a good Wick side and the holders Rothes away from home.
“Nobody expected us to do that and it would be great to win it.
“You don’t want to get to these things and look back and say it was great to be runners-up.”
Poor recent run v Brora needs to end
MacDonald has a lot of respect for Brora but hopes Clach can improve on their poor recent record against the Cattachs.
He added: “I think Brora are the best footballing team in the Highland League.
“They’ve got very good players who will hurt you if you give them the opportunity.
“How do we go about winning it? By being ourselves, having a go and cutting out the basic mistakes we’ve made against Brora before.
“We’ve never done well against them since I took the job; we’ve been beaten 4-0, 6-0 and 4-0, so we need to score a goal against them first and change that.
“If we give Brora time and space that front three of Jordan MacRae, Andrew Macrae and Tony Dingwall will put you out of the game in 10 minutes.
“They’ve got lots of good players, but that front three is frightening.
“We’ll look to get the ball down and play. We’ll look to attack them – we just need to make sure defensively that we’re at it.”
- You can watch highlights and reaction from the North of Scotland Cup final at 7pm on Monday, here.
