James McShane is confident Strathspey Thistle can be more competitive this season.
The Grantown side, who travel to Clachnacuddin in the first round of the North of Scotland Cup this evening, finished 13 points adrift at the bottom of the Highland League table last season.
But McShane, who works as a firefighter in Inverness, believes the Jags squad is better equipped to enjoy a more fruitful campaign this term.
He said: “I think we have a good enough squad to compete.
“We have a few players out injured at the moment which doesn’t help things.
“It has been a bit unsettled but once we get out full team on the park it will make a massive difference.
“I don’t see any reason why we can’t start winning football games and being competitive.
“We should feel when we turn up on a Saturday that we can take points off teams.
“At the minute I don’t think any team in the league is unbeatable.
“Maybe for the top two or three teams you would have to play out of your skin and they would have to have an off day but these things happen all the time in football at all levels.”
McShane admitted the sacking of co-managers Bobby Beckwith and Ronnie Sharp only four games into the season came as a surprise.
But the Strathspey captain is optimistic new boss Esson and player-coach Aaron Doran can help get the club heading in the right direction.
He said: “It has been a turnaround in the past week or so and a bit of a shock with the changes but as players we just have to get on with it.
“We have a lot of games coming up over the next few weeks and we need to start putting some points on the board in the league.
“As a team we are better than we have been showing – we just need to start getting some results.
“They haven’t had much time to work with us yet on the training pitch but Ryan Esson and Aaron Doran are experienced guys.
“Becky Mussett has also come in as our new sports therapist and the younger guys in the squad who know her from Caley Thistle have spoken really highly of her.
“We were disappointed not to take anything from the game against Deveronvale on Saturday.
“We started really well and we could have been more than 2-0 up at half time.
“Even at 2-2 we had chances to go on and win the game but then they went up the park and scored late on to win.
“It was a frustrating game as we could have come away with a lot more than we did – we have had a couple of them already this season.”
On tonight’s game against Clach, McShane added: “A cup run would be good. It is a one-off game. There is no reason we can’t beat Clach.
“They are a good side and they got a good draw against Fraserburgh at the weekend which would have been a confidence booster.
“We need to be organised, competitive on the park and take our chances when they come along.”
Gavin Morrison, who suffered a knee injury in his side’s 0-0 draw against Fraserburgh on Saturday, is Clach’s only absentee for the tie.
Feel-good factor at Forres and Rothes
Forres Mechanics and Rothes head into their first round tie with confidence following 3-2 wins against Formartine United and Nairn County respectively.
The sides met on the opening day of the season when Rothes won 3-0 at Mosset Park.
Forres boss Steven MacDonald said: “We played well on Saturday. We’ve got quite a new team and the boys are doing well.
“We have been working hard on the way we want to do things.
“There is still an awful lot to work on but it’s great to start on a positive note.
“Rothes beat us on the first day and we maybe felt a bit aggrieved about how that day went so we will want to put that right.
“They had a great result on Friday night that not many would have expected after they went 2-0 down.
“Both teams will be feeling good going into this one so it has the makings of a decent tie.”
The winner will play Lossiemouth in the quarter-finals of the competition. The Coasters were due to face Fort William but were given a bye to the next round after Fort withdrew from the competition.
MacDonald said: “The draw opens up and Rothes and Lossiemouth will be thinking exactly the same.
“It is a good chance to get to a semi-final for one of the teams.
“We want to do well and keep the momentum going.”
Rothes boss Richard Hastings hopes his side can build on their Friday night win at Nairn.
He said: “The boys showed on Friday we are actually a threat and we’ve shown that in other games too. We can be like that against any team.
“I was delighted for the boys we managed to see the game out in such a strong fashion.
“We will take some belief and confidence in the cup tie as well as some understanding of ourselves.
“We’re a relatively new team and we’re still finding one another’s strengths and that’s why we all need to help in that domain.
“It was not just the result, but the performance was important on Friday.”
Wick boss expects stern test
Wick Academy boss Gary Manson says there is no chance his side will take North Caledonian League opponents Invergordon lightly when they meet at Harmsworth Park this evening.
The Scorries boss said: “They won the North Caledonian League and finished the season with quite a few trophies so we know to expect a really tough test.
“It doesn’t matter what league you are in if you are able to do that then you are a good side.
“I’m sure Invergordon would acquit themselves well if they were in the Highland League.
“The aim at the start of the season is to try to get to finals, win cups and do well in the league.
“This is our first opportunity to progress in a cup competition.
“We will certainly be going all out to do that and trying to get through to the next round.
“We went out in the first round last year so we’ll certainly be looking to improve on that.”
Golspie have home advantage against Inverness Athletic, who won 3-1 at Fort William at the weekend, while Halkirk United host St Duthus.
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