The north of the country has been buzzing this week as Elgin City look forward to playing in their first ever live TV game against Rangers and neighbours Forres Mechanics recover from the shock of drawing the Glasgow club at home in the Second Round of the Scottish Cup.
The Borough Briggs side travel to Ibrox this Sunday for their Third Division meeting sitting ahead of their Rangers hosts in the table after defeating East Stirlingshire 4-1 however, the pushing back of the game by 24 hours could well deny the Borough Briggs men the opportunity to say they are heading to Glasgow to defend their status as League leaders. Peterhead, Clyde and Queen’s Park all have the opportunity to steal their perch before kick-off in Govan, as do Annan if they produce an eight goal win at Broadwood.
Elgin boss, Ross Jack, summed up the current mood in the Highlands by saying: “It is a plum draw for Forres and a great reward for winning the Highland League last season. We have played Forres a couple of times in pre-season friendlies over recent years and I am sure they will give a good account of themselves.
“I don’t think any former Elgin players are there but they have a striker called Scott Lawrie who we had a look at during the summer but he opted for Forres.”
Jack added: “Between the Forres tie and our game, Rangers have certainly been mentioned a lot in the last few days for both games.”
The Black and Whites' season is back on track after a bizarre opening to the season when they lost 7-5 to Arbroath in a Scottish Communities League Cup tie with Jack saying: “We are on schedule again now after three tough games in the Third Division. We played for over an hour at Berwick in the opening League game with only ten men and came away with a goalless draw. We then had a good 3-1 win over Stirling Albion at our place but our 4-1 win at East Stirlingshire probably gave me more satisfaction.
“Our home form has been good for a couple of seasons now but picking up points away from home has been difficult. Winning away from home is a great habit to get into mind you, we have a pretty tough fixture as we try to do that again this weekend.”
Jack puts his side’s solid start to the season to a ‘defending from the front approach’ as he explained: “It has been a good team effort so far and I am a firm believer in having your attackers helping your defenders by keeping the other side busy. Stuart Leslie, Dennis Wyness and Craig Gunn all set a very good example in how to do that.
“We have been without our captain Paul Kaczan all season due to an injury so the boys deserve credit for making a fairly solid start in his absence.”
The team that defeated the Shire at the weekend will need a bit of reshuffling as a deal to sign former Queen’s Park midfielder Paul Harkins, younger brother of Kilmarnock’s Gary, has stalled until the 23-year-old can shake off a hamstring injury.
Harkins was a star for the Spiders four seasons ago but a persistent groin injury curtailed his career at that time but he has completed a pre-season training programme with Ayr United after undergoing surgery and has been a trialist in the Highland club’s last three games.
Jack said: “Paul has been trying really hard and perhaps tried too hard and hurt his hamstring. He is not available for this weekend and we have a free weekend the following week due to international fixtures so hopefully, we can get down to discussing things after that.”
One man who could feature in a large way in Glasgow on Sunday is six foot nine inch striker Paul Millar, who returned to the club a fortnight ago after Olympic duty in London. The giant frontman is a fire-fighter with the RAF and his pre-season with Elgin was cut short when he was sent down to join the security team for the Olympic Games at very short notice.
He has featured as a substitute in Elgin’s wins over Stirling and East Stirlingshire with Jack saying: “Paul came back a fortnight ago in pretty good shape and we have been working on getting his match sharpness right since then. He has done well when he has been brought on in games and I am sure he would relish the chance of doing well at Ibrox. In fact, all the players do.
“This will be a great day for the players although I have been telling them that we have to remember that this is not a one off as we have to play Rangers another three times at least. To play them for the first time is very exciting but we have to try and approach it as another away game in the League.”
Jack reckons that some of his players will also treat the game as a showcase for their skills as he advised: “This is the first live TV game for the club, our first ever League game against Rangers and it is a huge platform for everyone. As more and more people are realising, there are a good number of fine footballers in the Third Division.
“A lot of them are young guys who have just fallen short on getting contracts at full-time clubs. They now have the chance to show people what they are missing and that they may be worth another look at.”
Playing in huge stadiums is something that Jack was used to during his playing career as the 53-year-old played at the top level in England during his time with Everton, Norwich City and Lincoln City and back in his homeland with Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, Kilmarnock, Montrose and Ayr United.
He said: “I played at the home of Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool back then in front of huge crowds. I also played at Ibrox and Parkhead so I am sure that I have some experience I can pass on to the players.”
Defeating Rangers is something that Jack has experience of as well, as he was part of an East End Park side that saw off Graeme Souness’ men 2-0 in a Scottish Cup tie in 1988.
He recalls: “I played in that game which is probably best remembered for a wonder goal from Mark Smith although some people still say it was a cross. Big John Watson grabbed the second and if we are to do anything at Ibrox on Sunday, we will have to play above ourselves like Dunfermline did that day. Football is all about what the players do on the day and hopefully, the Elgin players can put on a performance to be proud of in this game.”
The Elgin boss had much more recent experience of playing against the Light Blues although he finished on the losing side that time as he explained: “Back in October, 2011, I was in a Highland League legends team that took on Rangers Legends at Borough Briggs. I played as a schoolboy when Ross County were in the Highland League so that must be how I qualified as a legend!
“It was a charity game and Andy Goram was in goals and Rangers also had Lorenzo Amoruso, Bob Malcom, Scott Nisbet, Alex Rae, Gordon Durie, Neil Murray and Dave McPherson playing with John Brown coaching them.”
Jack added: “We had the likes of Charlie Christie, Barry Wilson and Gordon Connelly playing and all I can say is that I did score but I did miss a few as well. Overall, the result went against us but we had over 1,500 people in the ground that day and it was a terrific event.”
Prior to this game, Rangers had sent a young side north to play Elgin in a pre-season friendly and there could well be a few faces from that night facing Jack’s side again this weekend.
Jack said: “Tommy Wilson brought up a team and we played out a very exciting game that finished 3-2 to Rangers. Kal Naismith, who came on last weekend at Berwick for Rangers, definitely played that night and I am sure that one or two others have made their way into the first team squad as well.”
Turning his thoughts to Sunday, Jack said: “It is a game that we are really looking forward to. There will be a huge audience on TV and a huge crowd at the game.
"The Third Division clubs that have faced Rangers so far have all done themselves proud and that is our aim as well.”
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