East Kilbride manager Billy Stark knows his side were already going to be up against it as they prepare to take on St Mirren in the Irn-Bru Cup tonight.

So he could have done without Saturday’s Renfrewshire derby result firing up the Saints even more ahead of the short trip to Paisley.

Stark reckons that the 4-1 defeat to their local rivals will have stung St Mirren, and they will look to take out their frustration on the Lowland League champions.

“It’s a massive challenge, you have to be realistic about it,” said Stark. “The result St Mirren had on Saturday was a big setback for them in a local derby, but that will add to their motivation to put things right in the game against us.

“The fans always want to win their local derby, and I’m sure the players will want to start atoning for that tomorrow night.

“I don’t think that will help us. Jack (Ross) may have had a plan in his mind about how to treat this game, and I’m sure it is one where he would like to give some players a run out in the team to keep everybody match fit.

“Whether he still does that or not, we’ll have to wait and see. His thinking might have changed.

“Regardless, they have a strong, strong squad and they’ve added well since January, particularly from middle to front where they are very potent.

“I expect them to be in the play-offs at least this season, so that’s the size of the task we’re facing.”

Stark though is taking heart from an impressive Betfred Cup campaign, where his side caused problems for opposition much higher up the food chain.

“If I’m honest, there has been a reaction to that in the league games,” Stark said. “We played four games in 11 days against Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two opposition, and in the games against Hamilton and Queen of the South we spent the whole night chasing the ball.

“That will be the case again tomorrow night. It’s a great game for the boys to play in, but they’ll only enjoy it if we do well.

“We respect the level of opposition we’re playing against, and we’ll try to make it as difficult as possible, that’s how we’ll set out.

“It’s a great draw. We could have gone anywhere and played a colts team or whatever, but we’ve been given the opportunity to play one of the highest ranked teams in the division. It’s a great test for us.

“We performed quite well in the Betfred Cup, and we hope to put on a show against St Mirren too.”