Petershill assistant Paul Kelly believes taking on Pollok in a Euroscot Eng Cup clash at Newlandsfield tonight provides the perfect opportunity for his players to bounce back from their 4-3 weekend defeat by Arthurlie.

Conceding four goals did not sit easily with the Peasy No.2 or, indeed, gaffer Willie Patterson as they pride themselves on setting out their stall with a backline that is both organised and difficult to break down.

"It was nothing short of 45 minutes of madness and so unlike us," said the experienced Kelly, a former Pollok player dating back to the early 1990s.

"We lost all four goals in the first half and it took some strong words to sort us out and spark a much better second-half display, however the damage was already done by that point and we came away with nothing for our efforts.

"Whether it was a case of players subconsciously downing tools because the league title is beyond us is hard to say, but some of the basic errors that led to Arthurlie goals were disappointing in the extreme,so both Willie and I will be demanding a huge improvement tonight.

"And I think we will get the desired reaction, not least because the intensity of the Pollok v Petershill rivalry is guaranteed to get the pulses racing and probably more so now they are no longer in the top division.

"You can bet Tony McInally will have his players extra fired up at the prospect of taking the scalp of one of the leading Super Premier sides so we need to be up for the challenge."

Star winger Mark Lamont continues to be sidelined as he battles back to fitness from a fractured ankle sustained in a game against Glenafton, however there are fresh injury concerns.

The Peasy No.2 added: " It's looking more and more as if Mark will not figure again over our run-in, which is a shame because he's had a great first season in the Juniors.

"But he's now been joined on the treatment table by Jordan Chisholm, Jordan Kennedy and Richie Burke after they all picked up knocks in a Monday night training session which we were forced to cut short in case anyone else was injured.

"Right now all three players must be rated extremely doubtful, but everyone wants to play tonight, so they will get up until kick-off time to prove their fitness."

Pollok are in relatively good spirits coming into the second-round tie following their 4-2 weekend victory over Neilson, which saw gaffer McInally include Robbie Winters in his starting line-up for the first time and the former Senior ace responded with a couple of well-taken goals while his brother David also netted from the spot.

Assistant boss Stewart Ralston said: "Tony decided to go with three strikers and the experiment worked to a degree because the guys gelled really well in patches and we could have won by a far bigger margin if we had taken more of the chances created.

"Robbie undoubtedly sparked us into life with his goals on a day when the playing surface and overhead conditions were not conducive to playing good football, so I'm sure the guys will be delighted to get back out on to Newlandsfield tonight.

"A decent crowd is promised to provide a good atmosphere and this game will provide us with an indication of how far we have developed as a team since being relegated last time out and, more importantly, how far we have yet to go.

'Petershill's playing style and their individual players are well-known to us and we are looking forward to an old-fashioned cup -tie."

Former Springburn favourite Kieron McAleenan looks certain to figure against his former team, but a definite non-starter in the home team ranks is Ryan McCann (calf muscle), while a last- minute decision will be made on skipper Paul Gallagher, who is being used sparingly due to a niggling injury problem.

Meanwhile, supporters should be aware of a couple of Euroscot Eng Cup venue switches tonight with the meeting of Benburb and Glasgow Perthshire going ahead at Keppoch Park, while the all-Lanarkshire clash of Carluke and Newmains takes place at Tileworks Park in Stonehouse.

Vital league games are also on tonight's card with relegation-threatened Kilbirnie seeking to pick up all three points at home to Arthurlie in the Super Premier Division, while Super First promotion hopefuls Shettleston will be going all out to get their challenge back on track at fourth-top Kilsyth.