They’ve been working all week and Rhys Thomas says Formartine United’s players are ready to put in another Scottish Cup shift.
The Pitmedden outfit take on Falkirk at the Falkirk Stadium in the third round of the competition this afternoon.
With the Bairns sitting at the top of League One, having lost only once in all competitions this season, United will start as underdogs.
Falkirk’s full-time players and management have had all week to prepare for this tie, while Formartine’s part-timers have been working in their day jobs and trained twice.
However, defender and electrical engineer Thomas is hopeful the Breedon Highland League side can bridge the gap and make things difficult for their opponents.
The 21-year-old said: “It can be difficult to juggle work and football, but everyone usually manages to get to training.
“The management team will let you off with missing it every now and again, but the main thing is that you’ve got to be at training.
We have a packed Third Round weekend ahead of us 🙌
Tonight's two late kick-offs are followed by 18 ties at 3pm tomorrow.#ScottishCup
— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) November 24, 2023
“It’s a good environment at the club. It’s enjoyable and fun being part of it.
“We want to win games and we want to win trophies, but we also try to have fun while we’re doing it.
“It is like a job, but there’s a lot of enjoyment goes with it.
“It may be full-time versus part-time, but we only need to look at Darvel beating Aberdeen last season to show what could happen.
“We need to have belief and I think we can go there and make it difficult for Falkirk.
“When you play teams like this you want them to notice that you’re a decent side.
“The Highland League is a really good league and we want to show that, teams in the Highland League aren’t far off the levels above.”
Players could cut it at higher level
Thomas, who joined Formartine in January from Cove Rangers, thinks the Pitmedden side do have players who could hold their own at a higher level and hopes to back up that belief against Falkirk.
He added: “These are the games you want to play in – it’s the same with big games in the Highland League.
“You want to play against the best level of opposition you can.
“I had a little bit of experience of it at Cove and it’s really hard.
“But I think we’ve got players that could play in League One or League Two, but can we show it against a League One side? It’s up to us to do that.
“It will be a really tough game. They’re doing very well in their league this season.”
Thomas is in contention to face Falkirk following a frustrating spell on the sidelines due to injuries.
He returned to action in last weekend’s loss to Banks o’ Dee after a hamstring issue.
He said: “I’ve struggled with my hamstrings, but it was my back that was the source of the problem.
“Thankfully we’ve sorted that out now and I’ve been training for the last two or three weeks and was involved last weekend.
“I’m looking to build my fitness back up and get back in the starting XI as soon as possible – but it will depend what the gaffer picks.”
- Meanwhile, the draw for round four of the Scottish Cup will take place on BBC Scotland’s Sportscene on Sunday evening.
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