Peterhead manager Jim McInally rates Jamie Stevenson among his best signings as the East Kilbride man heads north to face his old side.
McInally signed Stevenson for Morton, East Stirlingshire and the Blue Toon and the 37-year-old will be in the Kilby side for this afternoon’s Scottish Cup tie.
Stevenson was an ever-present for Peterhead after signing in 2014, right up until his departure in 2020 for Kelty Hearts.
He since moved on to the Lowland League side and McInally is full of praise for his work under him.
He said: “He’s always been one of my best signings. I signed him for Morton and he helped us win the league that season.
“Sadly for him when I left they never kicked on. I was able to take him to East Stirlingshire and have him there for a while.
“He’s a seven-out-of-ten every week and sometimes better than that. He’s always been massive for me and he’s a great boy too.
“I know his qualities and how good he is from free-kicks. We need to make sure we’re closing him down and not letting him play.”
The two sides meet at Balmoor today with the chance to get into the last 16 of the competition.
Peterhead have lost defender Josh Mulligan, who returned to parent club Dundee this week and was involved off the bench in their Premiership game against Livingston.
There is also uncertainty over whether fellow loanees Lyall Cameron and Danny Strachan will be involved this weekend.
McInally will be able to count on captain Scott Brown though, who is closing in on double-figures for goals this season.
He added: “Scott for us is our go-to man. He’s loved by everybody at the club and respected. He knows every time he goes out there what we think of him.
“He scores a brilliant goal on Saturday, when a lot of players might have slashed at it. He curls a beautiful ball and he’s even that modest he said the goalie should have saved it.”
McInally is aware of how big an opportunity this afternoon represents, with a place in the last 16 at stake.
He added: “Of course it is – but they’ll be thinking the same thing. They come with more experience than us as far as bodies go.
“But if we keep being brave and be hard to play against – we’ve got good legs about us and make sure we play the game at a good tempo.
“We need to try use our legs against their experience. They’re the same as most teams that came up to Peterhead just now, in that they’ve got more experience than us.
“We’re used to dealing with that and we need to deal with that again on Saturday.”
Jason Brown returns from suspension for Peterhead and Simon Ferry should be available. Alan Cook, Ryan Conroy and Gary Fraser remain out.
