League Cup defence on back burner for Rob Roy boss Maxwell

Rob Roy celebrate their final win over Shettleston last year.

Rob Roy kick off the defence of the Sectional League Cup when they face Dunipace at Guy's Meadow tomorrow night (Thursday).

But Rabs boss Stewart Maxwell has admitted that circumstances may dictate his side might not put up as strong a defence as they would like.

Postponement of last Wednesday’s friendly at Larkhall has left his side behind schedule in terms of fitness preparations for the new season.

And that means he is looking at the League Cup section as an extension of pre-season to get his players ready for their Super League opener against Auchinleck Talbot on August 19.

The situation isn’t helped by the Dunipace game being put back a day as Guy’s Meadow is being used for the Cumbernauld v Kilsyth game on Wednesday - meaning less than 48 hours between the match and Rabs’ game at Kilsyth on Saturday.

Maxwell played almost two complete teams for half each in Saturday’s 1-0 friendly win at Jeanfield Swifts - Kevin Watt got the winner for the Kirkintilloch side - and is likely to ring the changes again this week.

He said: “I’ve got to try and be fair and give everybody minutes.

“With the Larkhall game getting cancelled we’re a game behind now which means we need to treat the League Cup as pre-season which wasn’t really my plan because we are defending it.

“But it is what it is and there will be a lot of rotations in the next three or four games.”