Swifts on the brink of main draw as Gunnion tells players to believe
Jeanfield Swifts can dare to dream of piecing together a memorable Scottish Cup journey.
That was the message from manager Ross Gunnion as he prepared his players for a game described as the biggest in the club’s history.
Swifts have the chance to book a ticket to the main draw of the Scottish Cup this weekend when league rivals Linlithgow Rose pitch up in Perth.
The preliminary round two match holds great significance for Swifts and the buzz surrounding the crunch clash was swirling around the Riverside Stadium this week.
Gunnion has watched teams of a similar stature carve out special runs in the competition - and now he would love to guide his squad to a similar feat.
“I don’t think there is a bigger game for the club, certainly in the time we’ve been at the Riverside,” he said.
“Outside of St Johnstone, this is probably the biggest game Perth has seen at this level of football. I remember when we got into the Super League with Jeanfield.
“But that pales in comparison to playing in the Scottish Cup against Linlithgow Rose. We had over 200 at the game on Saturday and I’d estimate that’ll double for Linlithgow.
“It’s main draw next. You go into these things with not too high expectations. The first preliminary round against Coldstream we were expected to win.
“I’d say this time around the bookies have us as slight underdogs.
If you can get through this one, there are still Lowland League teams to come in.
“You could end up with a favourable draw and then see where it goes. We’ve seen Auchinleck Talbot go on to play Premiership teams.
“Linlithgow have played Queen of the South. It would be great to get someone like that, fantastic. But first and foremost we need to put on a good show on Saturday.
“They should have the ambition to go into the next round and beyond.
“Home advantage is big for us. Linlitghow get a fantastic home support on a pitch they are good on.
“Our pitch is quite a bit bigger and with younger legs and a bit more pace, we should be able to carve them open a little bit more.”
Linlithgow are no strangers to Swifts and they both currently ply their trade in the East of Scotland League Premier Division.
“We know them very well and they’ve added to their squad this year,” Gunnion said. “Defensively they are along the same kind of lines, but have added in midfield and up front.
“They have fresh legs in the forward area. Tommy Coyne has carried that burden for about 10 years now, but they have support around him which will help.
“They’ve started the season okay but have dropped points as well. It’s one of the toughest draws we could have got.
“But at the same time we go into it with the knowledge that we beat them last season. Fingers crossed we can pip them up here again and get into the next round.
“We’ve got players who have experience of playing in this competition. We go out to win every game and always try to score goals.
“Barring Saturday past, we more often than not lose a game by the other team scoring more as opposed to us not scoring at all.
“Cup ties and getting into the next round of the Scottish is a different mentality. It’s about going out and not getting beaten.
“A lot of the good successful teams will win 1-0 or draw 0-0 and say that is absolutely fine.
“We’re a young squad and have started with an average age of 23 this season. They hopefully have plenty of years playing in this competition.”
Gunnion praised the commitment of four of his players who are rushing back to the Riverside from the Netherlands on Saturday morning.
Connor McLaren, Scott Smith, Michael Kennedy and Sam Townsley have all been representing PYF Saltires in the Futsal Champions League this week.
“It’s a good opportunity for the lads to play quality futsal in a European competition,” Gunnion explained.
“As much as we like to encourage it, if it had been a league game we probably would have got a free day. It’s landed on Scottish Cup weekend so we’re not entitled to that.
“But the players are flying back at about 8am in the morning so fingers crossed they should be at the game in plenty of time and feeling reasonably fresh.
“All going to plan, all four of them will be back. We knew about them being away before the season started and they even gave us the option of not letting them go.
“But it’s not like they are away on a week-long stag-do. They are playing in a big competition and learning new things at the same time.”
On the injury front, Swifts are hoping experienced pair Chris McLeish and Aaron Whitehead will pass late fitness tests. Fraser Smith remains sidelined.
Kick-off at the Riverside is 3pm.
We’ll dare to dream...
I’m having to fly home very early on the Saturday morning in order to make it back