Brechin looking forward to life in Championship

Club ready to rise to challenge, starting at Queen of the South

Brechin boss Darren Dods said his players can barely hide their excitement for the big Championship kick-off.

Newly-promoted City travel to Dumfries to face Queen of the South today, and the reality of promotion is really sinking in. This is the reward for a fantastic play-off win over Raith Rovers.

Dods said the training ground has been buzzing. “It is the first game in the Championship for us, and I can safely say there has been real excitement among the players in training.

“It seems a long time since the play-off final and the promotion celebrations, but now we really get our reward.

“We have a few players who have played up at Premiership level but also a few who have come up through the divisions so it will be new for a lot of the lads.”

The main message from the gaffer in the dressing room at Palmerston will be that mistakes are punished more harshly in the higher division.

The evidence for that was on show in Betfred Cup defeats to Championship duo Inverness Caley Thistle and Falkirk.

Dods is confident his players will take that on board against the Doonhamers.

He said: “The opposition has been clinical but we do have to realise that you can’t give the ball away too easily and not expect mistakes to be punished.

“Every game will be a tough one for us, but that’s fine because we knew what to expect and will relish every challenge,” he said.

“We will be coming up against big clubs with experienced and talented managers, good players and big supports.

“This is a step-up for us but we have to embrace it.”

Meanwhile, City have no fewer than three suspensions, with Ryan McGeever, James Dale and Aron Lynas all carrying bans over from the end of the last campaign.

SNS. Darren Dods has warned his players mistakes will be punished more harshly in the higher division.