Lewis Hyde insists Elgin City won’t be spooked by Aberdeen as they aim to deliver a Scottish Cup nightmare to the Dons at Borough Briggs.
The former Caley Thistle midfielder, who was an unused substitute in the Highlanders’ 2023 cup final defeat to Celtic, is relishing his new lease of life in Moray.
Allan Hale’s Black and Whites are second in League Two and reached the fourth round of this year’s Scottish Cup by knocking out League Two rivals Clyde on penalties before defeating then League One leaders Kelty Hearts.
On January 18, an expected sell-out home crowd will see Elgin face an Aberdeen side which have lost their last five fixtures, and are winless in 10 games.
The immediate focus for Hyde and Elgin is to add three more league points this Saturday by winning at Forfar Athletic.
Jimmy Thelin’s Aberdeen registered a stunning 10 wins and a draw at Celtic from their first 11 Premiership games before an alarming slump kicked in.
The Dons host Hearts this Sunday before next Wednesday’s test against Rangers at Ibrox.
‘We’ll roll up our sleeves, give 100%’
But when the match between Elgin and the Dons comes around at Borough Briggs, Hyde knows how they must approach it.
He said: “We want to show in the first 10 minutes of the match that we’re there to try and win it.
“We’ll roll our sleeves up and give 100%. If we do that, no one can fault us.
“It’s important we don’t get spooked by anything. Aberdeen are obviously a decent outfit, but they can be beaten.
“Ultimately, Aberdeen are three leagues above us and are one of the biggest clubs in Scotland.
“They’ll come here as massive favourites regardless of form, but we’re not going to just roll over and let them have it.
“This is just one of those games you want to play in. I was injured at the start of the season, so never got the chance to play against Hibs (in a 5-0 home League Cup loss).
“The result wasn’t great, but it was a massive occasion for the club.
“Now this is the Scottish Cup and you want to be taking on teams like Aberdeen.”
Underdogs ‘have nothing to lose’
Hyde is also delighted to be taking on the Dons on home soil, where they have tasted defeat only once in the league this season.
He said: “I’m happy to have a home tie. It’s massive for Elgin, for the club, especially with us being in such decent form this season.
“The fans are right behind us, and it’s given us a real boost. It can give you, as players, an extra 10%.
“When you’re the underdogs, you’ve got nothing to lose.
“I’ve been in positions where it’s been the opposite with Caley Thistle, we’ve been the favourites to just go out and win.
“The underdogs, if you give them anything, they’re sitting there ready to take their chances.
“We know these guys at Aberdeen are top pros and they’re expected to come here and win, but we’re not going to be turned over easily.
“We’re all looking forward to it, but our first focus is on trying to get another three points on the board at Forfar this Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Elgin have confirmed goalkeeper Aidan Glavin and winger Kian Leslie will remain on loan from Kilmarnock until the end of the season.
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