Geared up for big showdown
Cowdenbeath v East Kilbride: Scottish Cup Preview
Ex-Cowdenbeath star Declan Hughes has warned his East Kilbride team-mates form will go out the window when he returns to his old stomping ground.
The two teams have had vastly contrasting seasons so far with East Kilbride slaying every team put in front of them, while the Blue Brazil are languishing at the wrong end of League Two with a couple of wins from nine games.
But as Hughes prepares to return to Central Park for the first time since being relegated with the Fife outfit last season, he has stressed recent performances will count for nothing.
The central midfielder told the News: “Cowdenbeath aren’t on a great run, but in a cup game form goes out the window.
“Anything can happen, so I hope we go there and do enough to get the result.
“I’ve not seen them play this season, I’ve only seen their results.
“But I know last season results didn’t go their way, yet I felt they played well and weren’t a million miles away.
“Some games I’d say they deserved to win, but that crucial goal was missing.
“So I don’t think we’ll go into it expecting to beat them.
“We are on a great run right now and you can feel there’s something special happening at East Kilbride, so we want to keep winning.
“Our winning mentality will definitely helps us, but it all comes down to what happens on the day.”
Hughes joined Kilby in the summer off the back of a miserable campaign with Cowden, where they lost 2-1 on aggregate to Queen’s Park in the League Two play-off semi-final. That heartache also made it back-to-back relegations for the Blue Brazil after playing in the Championship in 2014/15.
The 21-year-old, who started his career at St Mirren, has been looking forward to locking horns with old teammates ever since the second round draw was made last month.
Despite how it all unfolded for him, Hughes insists he has plenty of fond memories from his 18-months in Fife.
He added: “I was in and out of the team at Cowdenbeath last season after picking up a few injuries, so I wasn’t in the team as much as I would have liked.
“Considering how the results went, it was pretty disappointing, and then at the end of the season we got relegated as well. I have great memories of my time there, though.
“I made a lot of good friends and I had lots of good times on and off the pitch, so I’m looking forward to going back.
“Their assistant manager Jason Dair, Dean Brett and Kenny Adamson are still there, so it will be good to catch up.
“I was at work when the draw was made and when I came out and looked at my phone, I knew straight away who we’d got. I had loads of text messages and people saying ‘you’ve got your old team’, so I’ve been looking forward to it for a while.”
Hughes watched Kilby reach the round of 16 and play Celtic in last season’s competition.
And he added: “After the cup run East Kilbride had last season I’d love to be part of something like that.”