Arthurlie aim for cup glory

Published 3 Mar 2010 14:51 0 Comments

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FIRED UP: Gavin Duncan, centre, hopes Arthurlie can dump his old club out the cup

By Kristian Truelsen

THE West of Scotland Cup was kind to Arthurlie coach Gavin Duncan throughout his playing days.

And now the Dunterlie Park backroom man hopes to land more success in the prestigious tournament when his current side take on old club Shettleston on Saturday.

The big defender helped Shettleston, Maryhill and Arthurlie lift the trophy in his career and he would dearly love to secure the cup once more as part of Mark Cameron's coaching setup.

Even though Duncan can't wait to return to Greenfield Park - where he plied his trade 18 years ago - he insists that all sentimentality will be put to one side, as the Lie are desperate to book their place in the next round.

He said: "When I won the West of Scotland Cup as a player it was the first trophy I won in Junior football.

"After we were knocked out of the Scottish Junior Cup we would want to win the West of Scotland Cup more.

"It is the prestige of the competition and is the second biggest cup tournament.

"I played at Shettleston in 1992 so I think the club will have changed a lot since I played there.

"It is always good going back to one of my old clubs and I am looking forward to Saturday.

"I would love to be playing against them on Saturday but we will be preparing the boys for the game this week.

"Shettleston are a bit of an unknown quantity but going by their league position, it will be a difficult game.

"We know every game we go into is going to be a hard match.

"I think we still have a lot to play for this season and there will still be a few twists and turns in the league."

Duncan joined the management side of the club recently and the coach has loved his new role at Arthurlie.

He said: "Mark Cameron and Jimmy McQuade asked me at the end of November.

"To be honest coaching isn't something I wanted to do initially but I'm getting a feel for it.

"I think as I got older I wanted to give something back into the game.

"I like passing on what I have learned in the game. By passing that onto players I can help them to become better footballers. I am enjoying the experience and learning a lot."

The Lie will be going for their first West of Scotland Cup win in 13 years. The second round West of Scotland Cup tie takes place at Greenfield Park on Saturday (kick-off 2pm).

Arthurlie's league match against Kilbirnie Ladeside was cancelled last week due to a large amount of snow and water on the Valefield Park pitch.

The Barrhead club are currently sitting fifth in the Super League Premier Division, but still have 10 games left to play.

This article appeared in Barrhead News 03 Mar 10

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