Buckie Thistle boss Graeme Stewart prepared to miss his own stag weekend if Highland League champs process in SPFL play-offs

The Jags host Lowland league winners East Kilbride on Saturday in the two-legged pyramid play-off semi-final but the first game of the promotion decider against the League Two basement club on May 13 clashes with his own pre-marriage party with friends in Dublin.

The timing of the play-off final could not be worse for the 35-year-old, with his wedding also taking place on May 19, just 24 hours before the second leg.

But Stewart, whose side scored 130 goals on their way to clinching the Highland League title, insists he is willing to make personal sacrifices if Buckie overcome East Kilbride.

He said: “If we beat East Kilbride I will actually miss my own stag party.

“For the first game against the team that finishes bottom of League Two, I should be away in Dublin for my stag party so I’ll be missing that should we get through.

“And the second leg is the day after my wedding.

“I’ll happily miss the stag weekend, although I can’t miss my wedding – I’ll just have to behave myself on the Friday and I’ll be going to the game on the Saturday.

“The guys going on the stag are all a bit disappointed because they’ve all put some money towards it, that’s just the way it is.

“There’s about 22 or 23 meant to be going away and they can easily go without me.

“This is just the nature of part-time football but to be fair to a lot of our guys, they’ve played at senior level before.

“Nobody at Buckie will be missing games for stags or weekends away, it’s all hands on deck to try and get through the games.

“A lot of them are very professional and we’ve only got Jay Cheyne away on holiday for the game against East Kilbride.

“We never envisaged we would win the league and he booked his holiday on the basis that our league season would be finished.

“Our players are very professional, he is the only one that is going to miss the play-off games.”