Charlie Brown hopes to lead Strathspey Thistle to their second victory in the Scottish Cup.
The Grantown Jags host Camelon at Seafield Park on Saturday in round one of the national tournament.
In nine previous games in the Scottish Cup, Strathspey have only won once – against Lossiemouth three years ago.
Manager Brown said: “The boys have to remember they’re representing the Highland League as well as the club.
“To get as many teams as possible through to the next round from the Highland League would be great.
“The club has had a disappointing time of it in the Scottish Cup so to be the second manager to get us into the second round would be brilliant.”
It’s been a difficult start to the season for Strathspey who have picked up just one point from eight Breedon Highland League fixtures.
Brown says being in the cup is a welcome distraction as they search for their first victory.
He added: “It’s a good distraction from the league, we’ve had a turbulent time in the league.
“We’re looking forward to Camelon coming up, there will be a different atmosphere around the game with it being in the Scottish Cup.
“We want to try to go as far as we can so it’s a good distraction for us.
“We’re desperate for our first win, we’ve had a few chances to pick up three points which we haven’t been able to take.
“Hopefully we can find our shooting boots and manage to get the win to take us into the next round.”
Researching Camelon
Camelon are 14th in the East of Scotland League First Division.
Brown has been busy finding out about their threats, but his preparations weren’t helped by last weekend’s matches being postponed.
He had hoped to have Camelon watched last Saturday.
“I’ve found out a few things about Camelon, they seem to be pretty direct and get the ball forward quite quickly,” Brown said.
“They’ve got decent strikers who can finish and we’ll have to be on our toes because they’re a decent side.
“I was going to have them watched on Saturday but football being postponed meant that didn’t happen.
“It makes things a bit more challenging and makes it a bit more of a step into the unknown but we expect a tough game.”
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