AUCHINLECK Talbot ace Mark Shankland says he can’t wait to face Kilwinning Rangers in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Junior Cup this weekend.

The Bot welcome the Kilwinning club to Beechwood Park on Saturday as the pair square off with a place in the Junior Cup semi-finals up for grabs.

While Shankland admits he’s eagerly anticipating the cup showdown, he insists his side will face a difficult game against the Buffs.

He said: “Me and all the other players are really looking forward to the game on Saturday against Kilwinning Rangers.

“There’s always an extra buzz around the place when we know our next game is in the Junior Cup and this time is no different.

“As a player, it’s the biggest cup competition you can play in at this level and I know that all the lads here relished the opportunity to play in it.”

Shankland added: “When the draw was made the other week I think a lot of people looked at it as an easy tie for us to get but I don’t think that’s true.

“I think Saturday’s match is going to be a tough one as Kilwinning have had a great run so far and they won’t want that to end.

“In the last round they went away to Kelty Hearts and won which was a great result so I’m expecting them to come here with a lot of belief and no fear.”

The Talbot frontman may be expecting a difficult game on Saturday, but he insists his side have what it takes to dump Kilwinning out of the cup.

He said: “We know Kilwinning will come here and give us a hard game, but I believe we are more than capable of beating them.

“I think we have a stronger team than they do, so I’m confident if we all play at our best on Saturday we will get the win.”

Shankland already knows what it’s like to win the Junior Cup having been a part of the Auchinleck Talbot side who won the 2014/15 tournament.

The young striker admits it would be amazing to win the cup for a second time, but says he isn’t thinking that far ahead just yet.

Shankland said: “It would be great to win the Junior Cup again, winning it with Talbot in 2015 was a career highlight so to do it again would be amazing.

“However, I can’t get carried away and think about that at the minute as there is still a lot of work to be done, such as getting past Kilwinning on Saturday.”

Talbot may be clear favourites for Saturday’s clash, but Kilwinning manager Chris Strain makes it clear he believes his side can cause another cup upset.

The Buffs are no strangers to being underdogs having gone into their last two Junior Cup with less than favourable odds.

However, on both occasions the Kilwinning club have come away with the win and Strain says there’s no reason his side can’t do it again.

He said: “We know we will be going into the game as the underdogs and rightfully so, Auchinleck are a very good side with an unparalleled record in this competition.

“But that won’t bother us, myself and my players truly believe we can beat them in their own backyard.

“It won’t be easy, but it's certainly not impossible. We played them earlier in the season and while they did beat us, I felt we were the better side for large parts of the game.

“They are a good team that is to be respected but we won’t be overawed by them. I’m under no illusions how hard it will be to beat them, but I believe it can be done.”

The game, at Beechwood Park, kicks-off at 2.30pm.