BLANTYRE VICS must be serious contenders for team of the season ...

regardless of what happens during the remaining days of the current campaign.

Manager Davie Greig and his backroom team have worked wonders, and will be a Super League side next term - just two years after they were rock bottom of the ladder.

When Greig switched from St Roch's to Castle Park, just over two seasons ago, the Vics were propping up the Central District Second Division table - and hadn't even scored a goal.

Fast-forward to present day, and the Lanarkshire lads will soon be plying their trade in the Super League First Division.

Oh, and there's the not-so-insignificant matter of this afternoon's Evening Times Champions' Cup final at Newlandsfield against Super League First Division winners Pollok - quickly followed by next Thursday's Euroscot Eng Central League Cup final against Thorniewood United.

If you think it might all be a bit much for Greig to take in - you wouldn't be far wrong!

Speaking to TimesSport ahead of the big game, he said: "Last season we qualified for the Evening Times Cup by winning the Second Division. We were delighted to be included in the competition - then we lost 5-0 to Irvine Vics.

"It was a real doing, so if you were to ask me if I was happy to be in this year's final, the answer would be 'absolutely'. That's what I call progress!

"But Pollok are a massive team and it's just a case of the lads going out there and enjoying the whole cup final atmosphere this afternoon. The Evening Times Cup final is always a wonderful occasion.

"There are a few of our lads who haven't played at Newlandsfield yet, so it's great for them and I only hope we can do ourselves justice.

"We have a wonderful group of players at this club and they deserve every plaudit they have received for getting us to where we are, but now I want them to enjoy it - and win, of course!"

The Vics fairytale starts when Greig took over the reins at Castle Park two-and-a-half seasons ago.

The once-proud club were stranded at the foot of the bottom league and their immediate future seemed hopeless.

Now, though, Vics are the talk of the toon and Greig revealed one of the things that really pleased him most.

He said: "Our crowds are well up since we started winning. We are noticing a lot more Vics' scarves and hats about the place, and that's fantastic.

"A lot of our older supporters have also returned to watch the team in the last season or so and that's incredibly pleasing.

"First and foremost, though, football is mostly about the players, and they have been unbelievable since I took over.

"You can have all the skill in the world but if you don't have the heart and the desire to succeed then you don't have very much.

"We came through a programme of 14 games in 32 days recently, and had to win 12 to have any chance of winning the title. We did it, but that was all down to the guys on the pitch.

"It was a mammoth ask, but the depth of character they showed was beyond belief. We only have a squad of 17 players, so to get out of them what I have must be classified as a miracle.

"There is no magic formula. You need lots of hard work, a bit of luck, and the desire to win. I think we've had all three this season, and last, when we won the Central District Second Division.

"I couldn't be happier because to win back-to-back titles is the stuff of dreams."

However, Greig, along with his backroom team of coaches Scott Mills, John Petrie and James Low, as well as physio David Anderson, reckon the day they won the title was the day they LOST heavily at Maryhill.

He explained: "That was our wake-up call. Some of the players were getting a wee bit carried away with what they had achieved up to then, although the truth was they had achieved nothing as the league hadn't been won - and it looked like we might just throw it all away.

"There were a few harsh words exchanged in the dressing room after that game and everyone soon realised that the league was still ours to both win and lose.

"That was the day we changed the mind-set and went back out there and starting winning games again.

"It reminded me a bit of the Irvine Vics match in the Evening Times Cup, as it was all about how we responded to such a morale-crushing defeat, and glad to say the players passed both tests with flying colours.

"Mind you, these same players have taken this club to two championship wins, plus three finals this season alone, so they definitely have something about them.

"We are up against one of the giants of the Junior game this afternoon and it's another big test for the players. Little Blantyre Vics against the mighty Pollok.

"It doesn't hurt if you say it quickly enough, but who knows who or what we will be talking about after the final whistle today?

"Let's just say I'm very proud of my players for getting this far, and perhaps anything else is a bonus!"