Dean Muir relishing Glenafton Junior Cup quarter-final showdown as Bellshill Athletic boss aims to extend ‘fairytale’ run

Bellshill Athletic co-manager Dean Muir is confident his side can cause another “massive” Scottish Junior Cup upset by knocking out two-time winners Glenafton Athletic in front of a capacity crowd at Rockburn Park on Saturday.

The West of Scotland Third Division minnows welcome their Premier Division counterparts to North Lanarkshire for an intriguing quarter-final showdown this weekend. It marks a historic occasion for the Black and Yellows who overcame a 2-0 deficit to stage a memorable comeback victory against Kilbirnie Ladeside in the previous round.

While few would have expected Bellshill to reach the latter stages of the flagship Junior competition, Muir retains full belief that his team can continue their “fairytale” run by disposing of their Ayrshire opponents, who lifted the trophy in 1993 and 2017.

Given the size and importance of the fixture, the local community has rallied together to offer their support with the club’s hard-working committee also preparing to open their new hospitality function for the first time.

Speaking to GlasgowWorld, Muir said: “It is such a significant game for us and we reiterated the importance of this competition to the players in training earlier this week.

“There’s been a real buzz around the club and the town again. We’ve had a great level of interest generated from local businesses for the first time in a number of years and we’ve received a lot of nice messages. I don’t think anyone would’ve expected us to reach this point, so we’ve got to savour the occasion.

“Everything has been positive, it’s been getting discussed in the local pubs and there’s a feel-good factor around the place at the moment. This tie is a reward for everyone associated with the club and it’s a perfect opportunity to put our name back on the map again.

“It will be the first time that any of our boys have experienced this before, it’s completely alien for them and it’s been tough to temper their excitement in the build up. Everyone is talking about it, so naturally it has been in their mind for a while now.

“We’re trying to give the fixture the respect it’s due. We want to give off the best version of ourselves on and off the pitch. There’s always been a romance to the Junior Cup particularly when you get to the latter stages. Myself and Neil (Rowatt) have told the players to soak it all in because you never know when you might get to experience this again. I played the game long enough to know that!”

Muir reached the semi-finals of the competition during his playing days with Rutherglen Glencairn in 2013, losing out to Auchinleck Talbot over two legs. Now presented with an opportunity to steer his hometown club to the last-four at such an early stage in his fledgling managerial career, the 41-year-old admits it would be his proudest moment in football.

”It would be right up there,” he admitted. “We want to go into it without any fear and give a good account of ourselves. Any positive result will come from us having that inner belief and replicating the same level of effort and commitment we displayed against Kilbrinie.

“We need to believe, both as individuals and as a collective, that we can cause another upset. We’re not here just to make up the numbers, we want to progress further. We know we’re already making history for Bellshill, so that’s another huge incentive for us. If all the boys turn up on the day and we play to our strengths and maybe Glenafton have an off-day then you just never know.

“The boys are full of confidence on the back of two good league wins in difficult conditions and we’ve had to deal with injuries to key players as well. Everybody is buoyant and we’ve had two good sessions and prepared just as we would for any normal match.

“Of course, we appreciate Glenafton play at a higher level than we do each week but we were 2-0 down against a good Kilbrnie side in the last round and we’ll remind the players of that before kick-off. If something doesn’t go our way in the early stages then we need to make sure we stay in the game for as long as we can.

“We’ll look impose our style on the game, be positive and play on the front-foot. We learned a lot of lessons from the heavy defeat to Kilwinning Rangers earlier in the season when we played well for a 15-20 spell and had some good chances before the floodgates opened.

“We’ve looked at Glenafton’s strengths and weaknesses in detail and I’ve been told they’re bringing a healthy away support which you’d expect but we’ve got to remember that it’s our home fixture. We’ll have a large crowd supporting us. Ultimately, it’s a knockout tournament and there’s a massive prize at stake so it’s our job as a management team to do our due dilligance and make sure we focus on our own game.

“We don’t want to let the occasion get the better or us, we’ve got capitalise on it. Being in the last eight for a club like Bellshill, given where the troubled times we’ve faced in recent years, is an incredible achievement. You cannot understimate it.”

Bellshill have signed two new players over the last fortnight, with former Barnsley youth defender Owen Lee and ex-Dalbeattie Star striker Luke Currie joining the club. The latter notched a brace in last weekend’s 4-1 league victory over Royal Albert and Muir reckons both recruits will prove to be valuable additions going forward.

He added: “Luke scored two goals for us last Saturday and you can see the quality he brings us straight away. He can bring us that bit of magic with the ball at his feet. Owen is young lad who had a really good schooling down at Barnsley. He spent two years there and you can tellhe’s been coached well in terms of his composure in defence. I think they’ll both be a great additions for the rest of the season and hopefully longer term as well.

“We knew the squad was going to need a bit of improvement in terms of trying to find players who have played at a high level which is not easy but when certain players do become available then we will always looks to try and improve our squad. We feel the boys we’ve brought in have proved that.”

The remaining three Scottish Junior Cup quarter-final ties taking place this weekend are as follows:

Dundee East Craigie vs Shotts Bon Accord

Hurlford United vs Cumnock Juniors

Larkhall Thistle vs Rutherglen Glencairn