Montrose host first division opposition in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup but player-manager Steven Tweed refuses to be intimidated by Dunfermline Athletic.
Having knocked out Angus rivals Arbroath and Whitehill Welfare in earlier rounds of the competition, Tweed admits he is “delighted” that his club is still in the Scottish Cup in January.
The only player who will miss out for the Links Park outfit is defender Chris Hegarty, who is suspended and Tweed feels the tie is an excellent opportunity for his team to gain experience playing against full-time opposition.
The former Hibs and Dundee defender said, “We’re really looking forward to the game. It will be great for some of the younger players to prove themselves against a full-time club especially one which is flying high in the first division.
“But we’re going to give it 100% just like we did with Hibs last year.”
A win would certainly boost the morale of the side, which suffered a nightmare start to 2011 after losing 5-0 to Arbroath at Gayfield in the traditional New Year derby.
Tweed added, “We want to progress in the competition and we would love to get a tie in the next round with another big club.
“We’re expecting a crowd of over 1000 at the Dunfermline game, which is obviously fantastic revenue for Montrose. It can only benefit the club if we go forward in the competition.”
Meanwhile, Dunfermline’s Alex Keddie insists there is no reason why the Pars cannot emulate his former first division club Ross County and go all the way to the Scottish Cup Final this season.
Keddie and the rest of the Dunfermline squad travel north today to face Montrose in the fourth round of the cup on their FIFA approved artificial surface.Hoping to go all the wayThe big centre-half, who left County in the summer to sign up at East End Park, hopes it will be the first stepping-stone towards another date at Hampden after playing there twice last season in the semi-final and final of the tournament with the Staggies.
The Dingwall side, of course, lost out to Dundee United at the last hurdle but Keddie still has fond recollections of the big day.
“I have great memories of the Scottish Cup from last season and what was the biggest game of my career,” he said.
“Obviously, we could not take it that step further and win it but it was still a fantastic experience. I think when we played Hibs at Easter Road in the quarter-final and drew the game we came away disappointed that we had not won.
“We knew that when they came up to us, we had a right good chance. When we beat them, it was at that point we probably started believing we could go all the way to the final.
“Luck plays a huge part in any cup run though. We were up against Celtic in the semi-final at Hampden and you could say our luck was that they were not that great a team at that time.
“But that was something we did not have to worry about then we just had to concentrate on turning up and not getting stage fright. We performed and Celtic didn’t.
“The Scottish Cup has produced a few surprises over the last few years in terms of the finalists. There has been Queen of the South and Ross County, so there is no reason why Dunfermline also cannot go all the way.
“But it is still a hard tournament and we just have to concentrate game to game. Montrose will be a hard test playing on that artificial surface. I have played on similar surfaces before in training but it will be different in a competitive match.
“However, there will be no excuses from us about the pitch.
“Obviously, Montrose will be going all out for the win but we just have to go up there and produce the sort of performance we are capable of.
“There is always one team in the round who slip up on a so-called banana skin and we certainly do not want to be it. We desperately want to be in the hat for the next round.”
Dunfermline boss Jim McIntyre will be without the injured Jack Ross, Greg Paterson and Steven Bell as well as Willie Gibson as he recovers from his recent viral illness.Fans should note, there will be a 9am pitch inspection at Links Park today.Hoping to go all the wayThe big centre-half, who left County in the summer to sign up at East End Park, hopes it will be the first stepping-stone towards another date at Hampden after playing there twice last season in the semi-final and final of the tournament with the Staggies.
The Dingwall side, of course, lost out to Dundee United at the last hurdle but Keddie still has fond recollections of the big day.
“I have great memories of the Scottish Cup from last season and what was the biggest game of my career,” he said.
“Obviously, we could not take it that step further and win it but it was still a fantastic experience. I think when we played Hibs at Easter Road in the quarter-final and drew the game we came away disappointed that we had not won.
“We knew that when they came up to us, we had a right good chance. When we beat them, it was at that point we probably started believing we could go all the way to the final.
“Luck plays a huge part in any cup run though. We were up against Celtic in the semi-final at Hampden and you could say our luck was that they were not that great a team at that time.
“But that was something we did not have to worry about then we just had to concentrate on turning up and not getting stage fright. We performed and Celtic didn’t.
“The Scottish Cup has produced a few surprises over the last few years in terms of the finalists. There has been Queen of the South and Ross County, so there is no reason why Dunfermline also cannot go all the way.
“But it is still a hard tournament and we just have to concentrate game to game. Montrose will be a hard test playing on that artificial surface. I have played on similar surfaces before in training but it will be different in a competitive match.
“However, there will be no excuses from us about the pitch.
“Obviously, Montrose will be going all out for the win but we just have to go up there and produce the sort of performance we are capable of.
“There is always one team in the round who slip up on a so-called banana skin and we certainly do not want to be it. We desperately want to be in the hat for the next round.”
Dunfermline boss Jim McIntyre will be without the injured Jack Ross, Greg Paterson and Steven Bell as well as Willie Gibson as he recovers from his recent viral illness.Fans should note, there will be a 9am pitch inspection at Links Park today.Hoping to go all the wayThe big centre-half, who left County in the summer to sign up at East End Park, hopes it will be the first stepping-stone towards another date at Hampden after playing there twice last season in the semi-final and final of the tournament with the Staggies.
The Dingwall side, of course, lost out to Dundee United at the last hurdle but Keddie still has fond recollections of the big day.
“I have great memories of the Scottish Cup from last season and what was the biggest game of my career,” he said.
“Obviously, we could not take it that step further and win it but it was still a fantastic experience. I think when we played Hibs at Easter Road in the quarter-final and drew the game we came away disappointed that we had not won.
“We knew that when they came up to us, we had a right good chance. When we beat them, it was at that point we probably started believing we could go all the way to the final.
“Luck plays a huge part in any cup run though. We were up against Celtic in the semi-final at Hampden and you could say our luck was that they were not that great a team at that time.
“But that was something we did not have to worry about then we just had to concentrate on turning up and not getting stage fright. We performed and Celtic didn’t.
“The Scottish Cup has produced a few surprises over the last few years in terms of the finalists. There has been Queen of the South and Ross County, so there is no reason why Dunfermline also cannot go all the way.
“But it is still a hard tournament and we just have to concentrate game to game. Montrose will be a hard test playing on that artificial surface. I have played on similar surfaces before in training but it will be different in a competitive match.
“However, there will be no excuses from us about the pitch.
“Obviously, Montrose will be going all out for the win but we just have to go up there and produce the sort of performance we are capable of.
“There is always one team in the round who slip up on a so-called banana skin and we certainly do not want to be it. We desperately want to be in the hat for the next round.”
Dunfermline boss Jim McIntyre will be without the injured Jack Ross, Greg Paterson and Steven Bell as well as Willie Gibson as he recovers from his recent viral illness.Fans should note, there will be a 9am pitch inspection at Links Park today.