Rob Roy boss Stewart Maxwell insists the pressure is on top flight opponents Arthurlie when the two sides go head to head in one of the eagerly-awaited Scottish Junior Cup fourth-round clashes on Saturday.

The Rabs head through to Barrhead seeking to pull off another memorable giant-killing act to sit alongside their third-round elimination of last season's beaten finalists Glenafton .

But those people in the know who rarely get it wrong - the bookies - reckon there's very little chance of back to back upsets given their latest odds quote Arthurlie as overwhelming 5/2 on favourites to secure a last 16 place with the visiting Kirkintilloch outfit rated as 9/2 rank outsiders.

His players might be fired up and be nursing a sense of injustice at being written off as no-hopers, but a laid-back Maxi sees things differently.

He said: "Arthurlie are one of the top 12 West Region teams and as such they are obliged to be in contention for the game's top prizes.

"And not having made it through to the cup's latter stages for a number of years only adds to the weight of expectations on their players whereas everyone at Rob Roy is looking at the game as a welcome break from the Super First Division promotion battle.

"It's undoubtedly a great occasion for me, the players and our supporters however regaining our place in the top flight has always been our number one aim this season and I would hate for us to lose sight of that goal.

"For that reason, ours has been a very relaxed approach to the tie, but I wouldn't rule out a rethink if we were to find ourselves in the next round and only 90 minutes away from appearing in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals."

Rob Roy's desire to step back up among the Super Premier elite led to Maxi agreeing to switch last weekend's home league game against Largs Thistle at Guys Meadow to the Ayrshire club's playable Barrfields pitch.

He explained: "All the games involving our main promotion rivals were going ahead and my not wanting to lose any further ground saw me take a gamble on the fact we have been unbeaten on the road this season.

"There would have been a lot of stick dished out if we lost but thankfully the guys came good with a Scott Upton penalty kick goal giving us a 1-0 win.

"The most pleasing aspect was the fact we created several scoring chances, even though our lack of a cutting edge and a terrific display from the Largs goalkeeper Stevie Connick left the result hanging in the balance to the very end.

"Arthurlie manager Craig McEwan took the opportunity to cast his eye over us, but I doubt if he'd have learned much seeing as the overhead conditions - we had all four seasons during the 90 minutes - were absolutely dreadful."

Maxi has not watched Arthurlie in action but has built up a dossier on their recent form via reports from other Super Premier bosses.

He also has a first-hand knowledge of several Dunterlie playing aces from having previously been a Petershill team-mate of Ryan McGregor, Ryan McCardle goalkeeper Mikey White and recent signing Craig Palmer who is allegedly cup-tied.

He added: "Arthurlie are a good team with a number of strengths not least of all the trio of strikers at Southy's beck and call in Gary Smith, Paul Stewart and Chris Dallas.

" We have experienced defenders in Jonathan Carter, Davie Barr and Martin Brogan who will need to be at the top of their game but truth is every single Rob Roy player will need to be fired up if we are to come away with a result that could ignite our season."

Rob Roy are not the only West Region side afforded a no-hopers tag as leading Central First Division pair Bellshill Athletic and Blantyre Vics are 7/1 and 6/1 away to Bonnyrigg Rose and Newtongrange Star respectively.

Vics boss David Greig said: "Being unfancied is nothing new to us as we were advised to scratch from the Scottish and save the cost of a team bus when drawn away in earlier rounds to Bathgate Thistle and Lochee United

"Surprises have been part and parcel of this cup competition since 1887 and I'm willing to bet there will be at least one in this fourth round - hopefully it's us"