Player-manager Steven Mackay believes North of Scotland Cup glory would cap a phenomenal seven-year journey for Nairn County.
Nairn haven’t lifted a trophy since claiming the North Cup in October 2012, while it’s their first final appearance since season 2015-16.
At the end of that campaign the Wee County’s main sponsor withdrew which put the Station Park side at risk of bankruptcy and led to the majority of their squad leaving.
Ronnie Sharp returned as manager and rebuilt things on the pitch as things stabilised off the pitch.
Mackay, who succeeded Sharp as boss in October 2022, would love to deliver silverware for those who ensured the club survived.
He said: “It’s well-documented the issues the club had a few years ago. A lot of people deserve a lot of credit to get the club back to where it was.
“The guys behind the scenes and Ronnie Sharp as manager did a great job.
“It would be a great recovery from Nairn County as a club if we could win the cup.
“In my playing days with Nairn the club was a top five club trying to push for honours.
“To then have the financial issues they had, lose the majority of their squad, go down the youth route with a lot of local players and now be competing in a final for the first time since then is a great achievement.
“To go on and win it having played a strong Inverness Caley Thistle side in the semi-final and a strong Ross County side in the final would be a phenomenal achievement from where the club was.
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“I’ve come in at the back end of the cycle Nairn have gone through.
“But it would be great for the players, committee members and fans who have gone right through it if we could round off that journey by winning.
“Hopefully that could also open up a new era as we try to take the club back to where we believe it belongs with the infrastructure and potential it has.”
Semi success adds to confidence
Nairn will start as underdogs given they are up against a full-time Premiership side.
But Mackay has urged his side to draw belief from their dramatic semi-final victory against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on penalties.
He added: “It will be very tough, but it’s a one-off game and we come into it on a good run of form (after five successive wins) which is all you can ask for.
“We know it will be difficult, but we’ve demonstrated we can do it by putting Caley Thistle out.
“It’s important we take confidence from that and I think we’re capable of winning.”
Nairn’s Ross County loanees Andrew MacLeod and George Robesten are unable to feature against their parent club.
Calum Mackay, who is on loan from Caley Thistle, is cup-tied having played for his parent side in the earlier rounds.