Chris Strain is convinced things are going to get a whole lot easier for his Kilwinning Rangers players in today’s ETHXenergy Scottish Junior Cup encounter away to Camelon.

His words will undoubtedly provoke quizzical looks given the Buffs have ceded up home advantage in the quarter- final clash by virtue of only managing a 3-3 drawn outcome in the Abbey Park meeting of the clubs last Saturday .

And matters only become even more bewildering in light of Strain’s honest assessment that his players “can count themselves very fortunate to still be in the cup”.

But all was revealed as he went on to explain himself last night. He said: "Camelon are no lightweights. They caused us no end of problems last weekend by getting the ball quickly into the forward areas and my players had to dig deep in order to three times come back from falling a goal behind.

“Now we are going through to Carmuirs Park rated as the outright underdogs and rightly so on the basis of last week’s display.

"However, Kilwinning Rangers as individuals and as a team never played anywhere near our potential in the first game and that gives me hope of turning things back in our favour.

“Yes, the advantage is with Camelon and it’s clear the guys who stood out for them last week such as Derek Ure , David Grant and Colin Allison will be looking to assert themselves on us again so it is down to my players to improve all over the pitch and impose our own game plan on them .

“That never happened at Abbey Park, but if the same questions are asked of the guys in the replay then I expect us to come up with different answers.”

The former Irvine Meadow and Kilwinning midfielder believes the root cause behind his players underperforming was attributable to them being overawed by the occasion.

He added: "A fair number of our guys had never played in a game of this magnitude previously and I cannot help but feel the build-up to the game itself and of course the expectations of a huge home crowd got to them.

“The stakes on offer meant the fear of making a costly mistake prevented us from playing our normal game and I believe we can go through there and give a far better showing particularly now that Camelon have taken over the tag of favourites.

“A dressing room inquest during the week saw me ask the players what they would do differently on hindsight.

"And just about everyone reckoned we should try to pass the ball better and ensure there are no regrets at the final whistle.

“Nobody minds going out of the cup just as long as we do ourselves justice as a team”

Strainy was not for revealing his playing hand, however he hinted strongly that inspirational stopper Martyn Campbell would not be risked against the East Region big guns.

The gaffer said: "Martyn was touch and go with an injury leading into last week’s game and we took a chance on his fitness that backfired as he was undoubtedly below par and not his usual commanding self .

“I’d love to have someone of his great experience for taking on Camelon in their own backyard but he’s not trained and I believe we have more than capable defenders ready to step into the breach .

“For certain I won’t gamble because I don’t want Camelon to rain our parade again.”

Kilwinning’s outstanding ETHX Cup run has contributed to Strain & Co dropping off the pace for a Super Premier Division promotion spot and they could find themselves further behind tonight if current tabletoppers Largs Thistle take the spoils at home to Blantyre Vics.

Game of the day though is the Holm Park showdown between second-placed Clydebank and third in the table Cumnock where an array of Junior talents are likely to be on show despite Bankies boss Budgie McGhie bemoaning his side’s playing hand last night.

Budgie said: "To be going into one of our most important tests of the season and against one of our main promotion rivals with our playing pool down to the bare bones is far from ideal.

“Last weekend we were reduced to only two outfield substitutes in our 1-0 defeat of Kilsyth Rangers but our goalscorer from that game Joel Kasabundi had to come off early in the second half with a stomach muscle problem that has prevented him training this week.

“Long-term injured pair Rab O’Neil and Johnny Allan are definite non-starters and the fact it’s not looking good for Hashim Cole (hamstring ) or Danny McKinnon (ankle) has caused me to make moves to boost our numbers this week.

“Unfortunately, my request for a couple of loan deal signings have come to nothing so it’s looking like amateur trialists will be our best bet.

"However, I’m confident the spirit in our camp will ensure whosoever wears the Clydebank jerseys will give a good account of themselves.”

Cumnock boss John McKeown refused to rule out Kilwinning Rangers from the hunt for step-up places when looking ahead to his side’s trip through to Glasgow.

Ruggy declared: "The Buffs possess too much quality in their ranks not to figure in the final reckoning though from a selfish view I hope they beat Camelon and go all the way to the Scottish Cup Final.

“Our game tomorrow is massive for both clubs and I’m just devastated to be posted missing due to a family wedding up in Oban.

"However, I’m confident Martin Devlin and Kieron McGuinness will get the best out of the players.

“Everyone is fit and available which is a pleasing position to be in and confidence is high as you might expect given we have won 14 of our last 16 games and suffered just the one reverse in the Scottish Cup tie with Auchinleck.

“Clydebank in their own backyard will provide a test of our promotion credentials and hopefully we can pass muster.”