One Auchinleck Talbot official was on the phone telling a friend or family member to "turn the telly on", because he was about to be interviewed on camera.
Others had to be ushered to a side room because their excited chatter was disrupting a live broadcast of the Scottish Cup draw at Hampden yesterday. An away tie against Heart of Midlothian was enough to generate a stir among the junior club’s committee members.
“There is no doubt this is the biggest game in our history,” said Colin Chisholm, Talbot’s commercial manager. The fourth round tie at Tynecastle in January may attract several thousand Talbot supporters and will be financially significant to the club, but there is also a sense of the team playing on behalf of the junior game, which has often been scoffed at for being unduly aggressive and which has only recently begun admitting teams into this competition.
“I just hope we can put on a good performance that is a credit to the club, the supporters and junior football,” said Chisholm. “We have been in 10 Scottish Junior Cup finals, winning nine, but this is a huge occasion. We also feel we are representing junior football. From a financial point of view, we can look at how we could improve the facilities at our ground. As far as the manager buying players, he is brilliant at managing a budget. I don’t think we’d be throwing money around on players.”
Scottish Football League clubs are more accustomed to the boost that a Scottish Cup tie can provide to their finances and their profile. Paul Sheerin had to score a penalty in the 90th minute of Arbroath’s tie against Keith in the third round to ensure that the second division side progressed, and their reward was being drawn against Rangers.
Sheerin, the Gayfield player/manager, was a member of the Inverness Caledonian Thistle side that knocked Celtic out of the competition in 2000, and he recognises the worth of these games to the players as much as to the lower league clubs themselves.
“Everyone remembers the night we beat Celtic in Glasgow, but I also helped St Johnstone win a League Cup tie at Rangers and reached the League Cup final when I was at Ayr,” Sheerin said. “I want more memories and I’m sure my players will be relishing this game. It’s a huge ask against a side of the quality of Rangers but I want to win every game and if you don’t have that attitude you won’t get far in this job.”
Peterhead are also preparing for a significant encounter, with Celtic having been drawn to face the third division side away. Managed now by Jim McInally, the former Celtic coach and a member of Dundee United’s 1994 Scottish Cup-winning side, the Balmoor side are trying to revive their form after a difficult start to the season that resulted in John Sheran being sacked as manager in September.
“We have steadied the ship since we took charge and the confidence of the players is building every week,” said Davie Nicholls, Peterhead’s assistant manager. “I hope we can continue that until we play Celtic in the cup tie. Peterhead are a really well-run club and are on a sound financial footing, but it is always good to get a few extra coffers into the club. This is a one-off game and recent history has shown that the likes of Inverness Caley Thistle and Ross County have defeated Celtic in cup ties.”
With Hibernian having lost to Ayr United in last season’s Scottish Cup and recently parted company with their manager, Colin Calderwood, there is reason for Cowdenbeath to believe an upset might be possible when the Edinburgh side travels to Central Park. The second division side’s player/manager, Colin Cameron, once played for Hearts and expects “a bit of stick” from the away fans, but he is counting on Hibs not relishing the prospect of playing at the Fife side’s ground.
“I don’t think that [Hibs] will be looking forward to it,” Cameron said. “I’m quietly confident that we can cause an upset. I’ll be instilling in the players that they are good enough to cause an upset.”
interview Auchinleck Talbot, Arbroath and Peterhead thrilled by draw, writes Richard Wilson
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