Elgin City manager Allan Hale has urged his side to leave Borough Briggs with no regrets following Saturday’s Scottish Cup fourth round visit of Aberdeen.
The Black and Whites host Jimmy Thelin’s Reds in a mouthwatering tie this weekend, in front of what will be a sell-out 4,500 crowd.
Hale, who took over the City reins 13 months ago after leaving Huntly, is relishing the opportunity to test himself on the biggest stage.
With City currently third in League Two and enjoying an excellent campaign, Hale says his players must also thrive on the occasion against Premiership opposition.
He said: “We are all in the game to be at the highest level we can, and be the best version of ourselves we can be.
“We all want to experience the moments that we are going to experience on Saturday, and test ourselves against top quality opposition.
“We are not nervous or fearful of the game at all – we are very much looking forward to it.
“It’s going to be a great occasion, and it’s important we enjoy the experience for what it is. At the same time, we want to be as competitive as possible.
“We will prepare the players thoroughly, and have a gameplan. The focus is on making sure we do ourselves justice in terms of how talented I believe our squad of players is.
“Above all, we want to give our supporters that turn up on the day a performance to get behind, and be proud of when they leave the ground.
“In turn, hopefully that means some of the 4,500 that don’t watch us regularly can come to Borough Briggs and get behind the team. I believe it’s a really exciting team we have – and hopefully we can showcase that.”
Dons aiming to end dire run
Aberdeen make the trip to Moray on a dire run of results, having not won any of their last 12 matches.
It is only the third competitive meeting between the sides – and the first since a Scottish Cup tie at Pittodrie in 1971 in which the Reds triumphed 5-0.
Despite the Dons’ recent struggles Hale is respectful of the quality of the squad his opposite number Thelin has assembled, but he is equally keen to take belief into the tie.
Hale added: “It’s obviously something we are aware of. It’s well documented – the fact they are a Premiership team means they get a lot of coverage.
“At the same time there has to be an element of realism about it. At the end of the day, we are a League Two team – they are a Premiership team.
“The fact they have gone out and spent £1.3 million in the window so far just goes to make the realism even stronger, in terms of the gulf between the two clubs, and the ability they are able to bring in versus ourselves.
“On the flip side we have to approach the game with a positive mindset, and believe we can get a result.
“That has to be our focus, otherwise there would be no point in playing the game.”
Elgin have kept focus since cup draw
With the tie having been over a month in waiting, Hale insists discussion about the Dons fixture has been kept at arm’s length throughout a busy spell of festive fixtures.
He added: “When the draw was made, we got together the day after and there was obviously great excitement about it.
“To be honest, since then we have put it on the backburner. We have not banned all talk of it, but it is not something we spoke about at all until we got together again on Tuesday.
“Now it’s the next game in sight, we can sense the excitement around the club.
“We didn’t want any distractions. I have seen it happen in the past when you get the big carrot, and the league form – the bread and butter – takes a dip.
“The focus is maybe on not getting injured ahead of the game.
“We have made sure that has not been the case. We stated when the draw was made, that when the occasion comes it will be something to really look forward to.”
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