Calum Brown insists Ross County under-18s have nothing to fear when they aim to secure a Scottish Youth Cup last-four place against Livingston on Tuesday.
The young Staggies have reached the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time, following an excellent run of results.
After defeating Elgin City and Lossiemouth in the early rounds, County have gone on to secure back-to-back away triumphs against elite academy sides Motherwell and Hibernian.
That has set up a last-eight encounter away to fellow performance-level outfit Livingston at Almondvale on Tuesday evening.
Given the calibre of opposition they have already seen off, forward Brown says there is no shortage of belief within the Staggies side as they aim to reach the latter stages.
Brown said: “We’ve beaten two elite teams, so I don’t see why we can’t go and beat Livingston, who are in our league.
“We’ve played them many times, whereas we had never played Motherwell or Hibs.
“They obviously had better quality in the team, but at the end of the day it’s about what we’ve done on the pitch.
“We won our battles, and we came away better off.
“We know what we’re going into, and we know we can beat them.”
Brown thriving in men’s football with Invergordon
Inverness-born Brown has been with Ross County since the age of 10, having previously been on the books of Caley Thistle.
Following a short spell at Forres Mechanics earlier in the season, Brown has since made a loan switch to Invergordon – where he is the North Caledonian League’s leading scorer with 19 goals in all competitions.
The 17-year-old says the experience has been hugely beneficial, as he prepares to take a step back to youth football this week.
Brown, who signed an 18-month professional contract with the Staggies in December, added: “Being at Invergordon has helped a lot.
“You’ve just got to be so physical playing against men in the North Caledonian League, that’s probably the hardest part.
“They’ve got a lot of age on me as well, so they will be bigger and you have to get stuck in and keep working hard.
“It’s the same when I’m in first team training here at County – they obviously have a lot more quality than the North Caley, so you have to have everything right when you’re training with them.
“Whatever you’re doing, you have to up your standards. But that has helped me be stronger against the under-18s.”
Duff aiming to strengthen pathway to Staggies’ first team
County under-18s manager Gordon Duff hopes the club’s young players can take inspiration from a trio of teenagers who have recently been handed an opportunity in Don Cowie’s first-team.
George Robesten, Andrew Macleod and Dylan Smith were all introduced to the field in the Staggies’ 1-1 draw with Hibernian last month after being recalled from loan spells.
Duff is determined to help guide the next batch of young prospects closer to first-team consideration.
He said: “There is definitely a pathway, and it’s getting stronger.
“That comes from the first-team staff and the manager. We can provide the boys with a platform in the under-18s and hone the skills that they need, but ultimately it comes down to the first-team staff trusting them.
“With George, Andrew and Dylan playing last weekend hopefully they can sustain their levels and produce more positive performances in the top-flight.
“There will be boys who are disappointed not to start on Tuesday, but it’s also an occasion that could be the biggest game of their footballing career to date – or ever.
“We have to try and provide an experience for them as we play on Livingston’s first-team pitch, and hope we can come away with a positive result.”
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