East Kilbride boss Mick Kennedy insists his side will show no fear against Queen’s Park tonight as they bid to become the first non-league side to reach the SPFL Trust Trophy Final.
The Lowland League champions have already sprung shocks on League One Cove Rangers, current holders of the trophy Airdrie and Championship high-flyers Ayr United.
And Kennedy says it would be a remarkable achievement if they can add the Spiders to their list of scalps in their semi-final at Lesser Hampden and reach a showpiece final in March.
He said: “We go there with no fear and it is something to look forward to. We definitely have lots of confidence and belief.
“For anybody in the Lowland League – or even a League Two team – to get to the final of a national competition would be a remarkable achievement, considering every Championship club has taken part in it.
“Just to get to the semi-finals is a remarkable achievement when you consider we have put out Cove Rangers, Airdrie and Ayr United – three full-time clubs. The type of guy I am, when you get to this stage you want to go all the way and win the trophy.”
Kennedy will be in the stands for the clash after being booked for throwing a ball at a Bo’ness United player in their last league outing.
He explained: “The Bo’ness boy was wasting time in a game and I threw the ball at him, so there you go. The club warned me not to get booked and I said don’t worry I’ll be fine, but sure enough I got booked and I’ll miss the game. The way we prepare it shouldn’t matter if I am at the side or not. I’m not too worried about it.
“I did remind Si [Ferry, his assistant] that the last time I was in the stands, Airdrie beat us 8-0 in the League Cup so I’ve told him there’s no pressure… but I’m sure the viewpoint will be pretty good at Lesser Hampden.”
East Kilbride have been sidelined for three of the last four weeks due to postponements, but Kennedy says that has allowed him to do plenty of homework on Callum Davidson’s side.
He added: “I’ve watched Queen’s Park over the past couple of weeks, just with games being off, so we have a clear plan in our head in terms of what we will try to do. They are well-organised, well-disciplined, well-coached. They are a bit direct, but they have loads of quality that we need to be aware of.
“We will be respectful of the level they play at but we certainly won’t go there with any fear, try to impose our style and if we do that we’ll give ourselves a chance.
“That’s what we did against Cove, Airdrie and Ayr and tonight will be no different. We’ll try to dominate the ball as much as we can and see where it takes us.”