Shire can't afford to look past Tranent says gaffer Ure

Despite the potential to draw a big name or a local rival in the second round the Shire gaffer knows they can’t afford to look past the East of Scotland Premier Division leaders.

He said: “We know more than anybody if we don't turn up on Saturday we will be out of the cup.

"We have to turn up and take the game to them, they are a very good team that will put us out of the cup if we don't produce our A game.

"You only have to look at the likes of Kelty Hearts, Bonnyrigg Rose and Bo'ness United coming up to the Lowland League in recent years and doing tremendously well, there's no surprise there but it shows the quality of the Premier Division sides.

“I played with Camelon in the Superleague for five years so I know how good these sides are.”

Ure also says that domestically he expects to see the league set up change quite a bit over the next few years as some of the top East of Scotland sides take their place in the Lowland League and, likewise, the top Lowland League sides move up to League 2.

"I believe that leagues will plateau over the years but that applies to League 2 as well and every club will be at a level they can go and compete in.

"The clubs that are well structured and stable off the park will be in a good place to kick on and take advantage of the pyramid structure.”

Shire were due to face Gretna 2008 last weekend in their latest Lowland League clash but that match was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Raydale Park.

It will give the players a much needed rest ahead of Saturday’s cup tie after a hectic schedule but Ure knows they will have to deal with a fixture pile up further down the line.

He said: “That's just something we will need to deal with in due course.

"It's good to occasionally recharge the batteries and now we go again on Saturday, we're still living in a pandemic and dealing with things that are thrown at us and we have to deal with thing like rearranged fixtures.”

The Shire are now not back in league action till the new year and will kick off 2021 with a mouthwatering local derby against Bo’ness United on New Year’s Day kicking off at 3:00pm.