BY IAIN COLLIN – @CCP_sport
Davie McGlynn has joked that he would rather Linlithgow Rose were facing Celtic this afternoon – after watching opponents Ross County pull off a shock against the Hoops in last weekend’s League Cup semi-final.
McGlynn is a self-confessed Celtic supporter and was at Hampden for the dual purpose of watching the Parkhead side and running the rule over County ahead of today’s Scottish Cup clash.
The Rose manager was left full of praise for the Staggies and will take his outfit from the juniors to Dingwall with the message of enjoying the ‘fairytale’ occasion – because a win is ‘probably impossible’.
He said: “I’m a Celtic fan – and I would like to have played Celtic after watching them last Sunday!
“But Ross County are a tremendous football team. Jim McIntyre has done a tremendous job wherever he’s gone and credit to him.
“He’s got really good players and he’s got them playing his system, the way he wants to play, and they’re very good at it.
“They could have been 3-0 down last Sunday after 20 minutes but they dug in and they got their rewards for it.
“It’s a fairytale day out for us, isn’t it? We’ve nothing to lose. It’s an experience for the boys and an experience for me.
“A victory? That’s what dreams are about. But in reality you hold your hand up and say it’s probably impossible. You’ve got to be realistic.
“It’s a tremendous achievement to get this far. Our cup final was Forfar and beating Forfar.
“Now, this is just an added bonus, that we’re getting to go up to a professional Premiership outfit to see how far we are away.”
Hassle
McGlynn, nephew of former Raith Rovers and Hearts manager John McGlynn, took over at Linlithgow in the summer and is hopeful the Scottish Cup run is a sign that fortunes are being turned around at Prestonfield.
And he reckons their marathon journey on the road to Hampden, which will break the 2000-mile mark today, has helped to galvanise his squad for the challenges ahead in the junior ranks.
He added: “All the hassle we’ve had with the Wick games being called off and everything else has definitely brought the players closer together, 100 per cent.
“The character they’ve shown in the last wee while has been great.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, what cup you’re playing or what league game it is, if you’ve got 11 players on the pitch and another seven at the back of you screaming you on and wanting you to win, we’ll do better than most teams.
“This is a great achievement for the club, to get this far, and a great reward for everything we’ve been through in the tournament so far.”
