Rob Roy gear up for tough Talbot tester at Auchinleck

This is despite the fact that Talbot have slipped up on a few occasions this season, including a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Rob Roy at Guy’s Meadow in September.

But the Ayrshire giants, who are also reigning Scottish Junior Cup holders, have been the benchmark of the junior game over many years and Rabs manager Stewart Maxwell is not expecting anything other than a tough match on Saturday.

The Kirkintilloch side have taken just one point from their last three league games as repeated postponements - last week’s game with Pollok was another casualty - take their toll on the side’s consistency.

But Maxwell is confident his side can get back on track.

He said: “I don’t think we’re that far away and if everyone can up their game by five per cent we can get back to the level we were at.

“In our last game at Troon we lost 4-0 but I thought in the first half we were excellent and unlucky to go in at half-time a goal down. But we then conceded a penalty and had a player sent off in the space of five minutes.

“Auchinleck will be tough and we know we will have to work for 90 minutes because their work rate is one of the recipes for their success.

“People are saying we’re a surprise package but Auchinleck are too experienced to underestimate us and when we beat them it was because we played well on the day.”