Neilston co-manager Derek Carson insists his players will have no problem picking themselves up after their Scottish Junior Cup quarter-final against Pollok fell victim to the weather.
The Farmer’s Boys were ready to welcome West Region Premiership side Lok to Brig O’ Lea on Saturday in what was set to be the club’s biggest match in years.
Brig co-boss Chris Cameron told Barrhead Sport last week that his players were all “buzzing” ahead of the monumental occasion as Neilston looked to make it to their first-ever Scottish Junior Cup semi-final.
The aftermath of Storm Dennis put paid to that, however, with the vast majority of matches across the West Region, including the other three quarter-finals, succumbing to the horrific conditions.
READ MORE: Farmer's Boys 'buzzing' ahead of cup showdown with Pollok
And while Carson admits he was in no way shocked to see the game off, he revealed everyone at the club was still left disappointed.
He said: “That game being called off came as no surprise to us, we knew by around Wednesday that it stood no chance.
“The park was a mess on Wednesday and the forecast just didn’t bode well.
“There is absolutely nothing that could be done about it but it’s still disappointing for all the boys and all the fans that it didn’t go ahead.
“It’s the biggest game this club has had in a number of years, so understandably everyone in and around the club was buzzing for it.
“All the boys came in for training last Thursday and you could just tell by their faces that they all knew the match was going to be called off. They were all so up for it, so it’s understandable they were left gutted.
“It’s such a big game that we’ll have no problem getting ourselves ready for it once again this weekend if the Brig pitch manages to hold out.”
Knowing the game was likely to be off, Carson and Cameron had planned to run a training session on Saturday afternoon but the weather even scuppered that, with the gaffers forced to give their players the weekend off.
“We were set to get in a training session with it being off and had booked a 3G pitch in Paisley but even that had to be abandoned as that pitch was flooded too,” Carson said.
“We ended up telling the boys to go and enjoy their weekend off before we regrouped again at training last night and began preparation for the game this Saturday.
“We don’t usually like giving the boys the day off on a Saturday, as we like to keep them in a routine, but our hand was forced. I think they all enjoyed the time off eventually after the initial disappointment but we’re back now and raring to go.”
READ MORE: Neilston book spot in Scottish Junior Cup quarter-finals
With more rain and snow forecast for this weekend, the rescheduled cup match remains a doubt but Carson insists the team will prepare as normal.
He added: “I don’t know what the weather or the state of the pitch will be like on Saturday but we’ve just got prepare for a match as normal all week and take it from there.
“What we do know to expect is how good Pollok are, as we’ve been to watch them a couple of times.
“We know Pollok play a high-tempo game, so it’s vital our players show some confidence in themselves in possession.
“Myself and Chris have every confidence in our players. We’re not in this competition to make up the numbers, we’re going out there to become the first Neilston side to reach the semi-finals.”
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