BEITH manager Johnny Millar is steeling himself to be the butt of jokes and wisecracks in the build up to this week’s ETHXenergy Scottish Junior Cup quarter-final clash with Arthurlie.

Not an altogether surprising revelation when one considers the former winger’s Barrhead roots date back to when he was brought to live in the East Renfrewshire town as a six-month-old baby.

He spent a large slice of his playing career on the books of his hometown team and earned himself instant hero status among the Dunterlie faithful after netting one of the goals in the Lie’s 4-0 Scottish Cup Final win over Pollok in 1998 that earned him a second winners' gong to go along with his prized medal for scoring the only goal of the game in Glenafton’s 1993 triumph over Tayport.

But he is acutely aware those once adoring Arthurlie supporters who are delighting in baiting him ahead of Saturday’s last-eight clash are likely to become pretty unbearable if their side comes out on top at Bellsdale Park .

The Mighty gaffer insisted: “Yes, I’ve been on the end of a few wind-ups but that’s only to be expected and it’s not as if I’m on my own in that respect because my entire Beith backroom team of Stevie Convery, Tam Miller and Derek Rhodden have all played with Arthurlie at one time or another and both Tam and The Con are also resident in Barrhead.

“We’ve already decided to go into hiding for a week or two if Beith lose out but if the day is ours then the plan is to hold court in every pub and bookmakers.”

Their “enemy within” tag didn’t prevent Millar and his loyal cohorts watching from the terracings as Arthurlie staged a 3-2 comeback win over Irvine Meadow last weekend that had the Ayrshire team boss singing the praises of dugout counterpart Steve Kerrigan.

He added “It was something of a Jekyll and Hyde display if truth be told but whatever Kegs said to his players at half time obviously did the trick because Arthurlie were near unstoppable and ran over the top of Medda after the break.”

“ As soon as their first goal went in I headed home knowing they were destined to come out on top and so it proved.

“A number of players caught the eye, most notably the forward line pair of Gary Smith and Gary Carroll whiletheir overall physicality and height posed a real danger at just about every set piece so we will need to work at ways to counter this threat.

“They will make changes seeing as both Darren Gribben and Chris Mackie cup-tied with Bo’ness United and therefore unavailable but it’s doubtful whether their enforced absence will weaken Arthurlie too much when you think the likes of Eddie McTernan is in line for a starting jersey after missing out on Saturday through other commitments.

“We have not played each other this season but on the evidence of Saturday , I’d say the teams look to be pretty evenly matched and it could be a case of the tie going the way of whoever plays best on the day.

” Hopefully it’s Beith and certainly my guys are in decent fettle after coming through a sticky spell nearing Xmas however the form book counts for nothing in Scottish Cup games .”

Calum Watt , a member of Hurlford United’s 2014 Cup winning squad is a major doubt for the Ayrshiremen as indeed is one time Queens Park forward Thomas Collins however Millar served up better news for supporters by revealing hitman Kenny Mclean is fit and ready for the fray .

“Kenny would have been posted missing if our game against Kilbirnie Ladeside had gone ahead last Saturday as he was away getting married but he’s trained alongside the other guys and is raring to go.

“He’s a potential matchwinner but no more so than Andy Reid or indeed Darren Christie who is yet another Barrhead boy and will be out to prove a point or two .”

Word from the visiting camp is that gaffer Kerrigan will wait until closer to kick off time before deciding if defender Gavin Rushford will figure in his selection thoughts however sure to be one of the first names down on his team sheet is that of ex-Motherwell striker Smith who has hit a purple patch of form and netted in every Arthurlie game in 2016 …an impressive 10 strikes in five appearances.

And further underlining the 24 year old’s importance to his team is Cup stats showing he has been on the scoresheet in every ETHXenergy Cup game to date.

He admitted , “I’m feeling more confident about scoring goals than at any other time in my playing career but that’s all down to the other guys in the team.

“Their deliveries from wide areas and ability to create openings allows me to attack the ball in the penalty box and thankfully more has gone in for me than not of late

“But I know to expect no favours from the Beith defenders so my only aim is to continue working my socks off for the team and see if lady luck continues to smile on me.”