Jonny Smith believes Aberdeenshire Shield success can be the perfect pick-me-up for Inverurie Locos having seen their Highland League title challenge stall.
The Railwaymen take on Fraserburgh in the Shield showpiece a week tomorrow following a 3-2 defeat to Nairn County and a 1-1 draw with Huntly on Saturday.
As a result the Harlaw Park outfit is now five points behind league leaders Brora Rangers having played two games more.
Striker Smith believes the Aberdeenshire Shield final provides the perfect platform for Inverurie to bounce back.
He said: “The cup final can be a big confidence boost if we show up well to show that we can compete with teams like Fraserburgh and Brora.
“I definitely think we can, we’ve got the quality in the dressing room to match anybody in the league.
“We’ve got to pick ourselves up and just get on with it now.
“The cup final is the perfect game to bounce back in and make something of the season.
“I’ve won silverware before and there is a lot of experience in the team and a lot of winners in the team.
“Hopefully there can be a few more after the final next week.
“Hopefully the experience of players like Eric Watson and Chris Angus will come through and we’ll get the job done.”
Smith was frustrated to draw with Huntly at the weekend, but insists Locos can’t give up on their title challenge.
He added: It was very disappointing on Saturday and as group we’ve let ourselves down in our last couple of performances.
“There is a long way to go and a lot of games to be played.
“The pressure is on Brora just now, Fraserburgh are still there and Rothes are still plugging away as well.
“We’ve all got to play each other and anything can happen in these games and things can change quickly.
“We won seven or eight games in a row but then we’ve dropped points in our last two.
“That can happen to other teams so we’ve got to hope that happens.”