Kevin MacDonald admits he can’t wait to battle with his former side Beith this weekend.
The Darvel assistant manager will be in the dug-out against the team he played with for almost six years as Vale host Beith in the West of Scotland Cup first round.
MacDonald reckons drawing the cup holders was as hard a draw as they could have got.
The former centre-back, who won the Premier Division League title and the Junior Cup at Bellsdale as well as the Ayrshire Cup, said: “I am looking forward to it. As a player I always enjoyed going up against a former team.
“Most of the staff and players are the same as when I left less than a year ago. And I have had a bit of banter with some of them this week.
“I am looking forward to seeing everyone again.
“I loved my time at Beith, everyone there was great from the fans, committee, players and staff.
“It will be great to catch up with them properly after the game on Saturday – saying that, if we lose I might just have to go into hiding.”
Beith, nicknamed The Mighty, drew 3-3 with fierce rivals Kilbirnie on Saturday, another side MacDonald played with.
He said: “I actually moved directly from Kilbirnie to Beith, so the fans have always been quick to remind me that I was a turncoat.
“But moving to Beith was a great decision as I had a successful spell there”
He added: “Even though it was a draw on Saturday, going by the highlights Beith could have won by a few.
“I believe they are still one of the strongest squads in Junior football.
“The game on Saturday is as tough as it gets.
“But it’s good for us that Paul Frize is suspended.”
MacDonald, who played 13 SPL games with Motherwell before moving to Stirling Albion and Dumbarton, reckons playing a Premiership side will be a great opportunity for Darvel.
He said: “This will be a good test to find out how we do against the level of teams we want to play.
“We beat them in pre-season but that was when we had a settled squad, so it might be different now.
“We have the quality to beat these top teams. We have got great players across the park.
“And then we’ve got the incredible Darren Miller who will probably tell you he’s the top scorer in Britain.”
