Cove Rangers striker Mitchel Megginson will be making sure the Highland champions keep close tabs on East Kilbride playmaker Graeme Holmes in Saturday’s SPFL playoff clash.
The pair were team-mates at Alloa a few years ago and now they will go head-to-head in the bid to reach the SPFL playoff final.
Cove disposed of Lowland League champions in last year’s playoffs, easing past Spartans 5-2 on aggregate before falling to Cowdenbeath in the final, just as Kilby did two years ago.
But Megginson, who has netted an astonishing 46 goals in the Highland League this season, is expecting a closer contest and reckons Cove must stifle Holmes if they are to progress.
The 26-year-old said: “East Kilbride have got good players who have played a lot of games in the SPFL, so we are under no illusions it’s going to be a very tough test.
"It’s not going to be like last season where Spartans were taken aback in the first leg.
“We know East Kilbride will be much tougher and we’ll need to be at our best to have any chance of progressing.
“I played with Graeme Holmes before and I know East Kilbride are very experienced.
“I had a couple of spells with him at Alloa and he’s a cracking player.
“So I’ll be telling the boys to make sure he’s not getting too much time on the ball, that’s for sure.”
Cove come calling off the back of a treble-winning season, claiming the Highland League, Aberdeenshire Cup and League Cup during a dominant campaign.
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They will be hoping it’s third time lucky in their pursuit of promotion after falling to Cowdenbeath last term and Edinburgh City – the only side to go up through the pyramid system – in 2016.
In previous seasons the desire of fellow Highland outfits Buckie Thistle and Brora Rangers has been questioned.
But Megginson - who also played in the SPFL for Aberdeen and Dumbarton - insists there’s no doubting Cove’s intentions, following the opening of their new 370-seater Balmoral Stadium at the start of the season.
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He added: “When I signed, the reason I got on board was because the chairman, the manager and the board wanted to get into League Two – and that hasn’t changed.
“We’ve got the stadium and our aim is to become a Scottish League team.
"We’ll be trying our best to achieve that.”
Cove will be without manager John Sheran for the playoffs after he suffered a heart attack on Sunday. Cove co-manager Graeme Mathieson and first team coach Roy McBain will be in charge on Saturday.
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