THE SPECIAL SILVER
Russell relishing chance to add to his Kilby Scottish Cup memories
East Kilbride skipper Barry Russell believes his side can reach the QUARTER-FINALS of the Scottish Cup after last season’s fairytale run in the competition.
The 27-year-old fulfilled a boyhood dream in February by taking on Scottish Premier League champions Celtic in the last 16 of the competition last season. But now the Westwood man wants to create more memories with the Lowland minnows by going even further than they managed in the 2015/16 campaign. Russell, who will lead his side out against fellow Lowland side Vale of Leithen on Saturday in the first round of this season’s Scottish Cup, told the News: “It will be hard to beat what we achieved last season, but hopefully we can go on another run this year and play some big teams again. “It would be amazing if we could go one stage further than last season and I don’t see why we can’t.
“We have a stronger squad than we had last season. There’s better ability within the team as well, so that gives me the belief we can do well.
“I don’t think anything will ever beat last season, but you never know. If we can go far maybe we can get another big team like Celtic or another Premier League side.
“We believe we can beat anyone around our level over 90 minutes and we’re confident we can do well in the competition again.”
Kilby were the surprise package last season as they made it all the way to round five, disposing of Forres Mechanics, Stenhousemuir and Lothian Thistle Huitchison Vale before losing 2-0 to Celtic.
And Russell reckons given their exploits in the previous campaign, coupled with a 100 per cent record from their opening 10 games, makes them one of the ‘big teams’ in the early
rounds.
He added: “I’m sure a lot of the other Lowland teams will be a wee bit jealous of what we did last year. They’ll see us as one of the bigger teams in the competition at this stage and want to beat us.
“We’ll be seen as favourites on Saturday because of the way we’ve started the season in the league, but I think some teams will probably want to avoid us because of that unbeaten run we have.
Asked if he was dreaming of another meeting with Celtic, Russell said: “Playing Celtic this season would be a totally different game. “They are unstoppable at the moment. “I’d love to play against Celtic again, but I’m not sure, with the team they have now under Brendan Rodgers, it would be as close as it was last season.”