Conor Gethins calls on Clach to draw North of Scotland Cup final inspiration from behind the scenes heroes against Brora Rangers
Conor Gethins wants Clach’s players to use the club's behind-the-scenes heroes to inspire them to a massive North of Scotland Cup final shock.
The Lilywhites’ manager pointed to 83-year-old club servant and lifelong supporter Donnie George Mackenzie as one source of inspiration as the Merkinch men look to end a 23-year wait to recapture the trophy.
Brora Rangers face them at Nairn County’s Station Park on Saturday, with Clach huge underdogs.
Transformation this season has taken Gethins’ men to fifth in the league, but Brora demonstrated their title potential at the weekend in a 2-2 draw with leaders Brechin City.
Clach were not at their best on Saturday, but shot down Turriff United 3-1 with finishes from Rorie Macleod, Connor Bunce and Lewis MacKenzie.
“I thought it was important for the guys to take that winning feeling into the final,” the Irishman said. “We didn’t perform very well, but the victory was important.
“I’ve said to the guys that, for us, the final will be 90 minutes to give everything.
“Above that, it is for the fans and the people in the background who work hard at the park every single day of the week, cleaning, painting walls.
“Guys like Donnie George who is there every day cutting the grass. Donnie has been a Clach fan since the age of five and he’s there nine hours a day, five days a week, working on the grass at his age.
“He never complains, never asks for anything. It is those kinds of boys who we want to try and perform for, not ourselves.
“We’ll have moments again, but Donnie has not had this competition for 23 years.
We need to perform for him and everyone else who has put in the hard work these last three or four months.”
Brora’s might has set them up as top goalscorers in the league so far, with 50 goals in 13 games.
But Clach’s defence has been second only to Brechin, with just 12 conceded.
“We’re not stupid. We go into this game as massive underdogs. Brora have been at the top of the tree now for 10-plus years,” Gethins said.
“We finished second bottom last year and we have hit the ground running this year, but we’ll need to be at the very top of our game to take the trophy home from Nairn.
“Everybody needs to be a seven-plus out of 10 and Brora need to have a bit of an off-day.
“In saying that, we have some matchwinners in our team and we’ve got a very good defensive record.
“It could be a very interesting game. We’ve got some very dangerous players ourselves and a few mavericks who can certainly do some damage.”
