East Kilbride manager Mick Kennedy is confident his side can compete with Championship side Dunfermline when Neil Lennon's team visit K-Park in Saturday's Premier Sports Cup Group C opener. The League Two champions face a side that reached the Scottish Cup final last season, but Kennedy has a history of cup upsets.
Kennedy's Track Record of Cup Shocks
Kennedy has masterminded wins over Championship sides Ayr United and Airdrieonians in recent years, and famously knocked Aberdeen out of the Scottish Cup during his time at Darvel. He believes his current squad can rise to the occasion.
“We’ve got a big club who got to the Scottish Cup final last season coming to our place, so it is an exciting one,” Kennedy said. “Neil has made massive improvements since he went to the club. His name and career is synonymous with football in this country so it is a big day ahead for everyone at the club and we are really looking forward to it.”
Pre-Season Context and Preparation
Kennedy acknowledged the challenge of facing a full-time side early in pre-season. “I have no doubt we will compete on Saturday. It will be a very competitive game and I am sure Dunfermline still have a lot of recruiting to do as well so it will be two teams who are probably not exactly where they will be come the start of the league campaign,” he said.
He stressed the importance of sticking to their possession-based style. “We need to try and treat it like a pre-season game. Nothing will change in terms of our structure and how we want to play football because that been embedded in the club over the last three years and that will continue to be the theme.”
Lessons from Past Drubbings
Kennedy recalled a heavy defeat to Airdrieonians two seasons ago. “A couple of seasons ago we got an 8-0 drubbing off of Airdrie and then later in the season we knocked them out of a different cup competition [the Challenge Cup] later in the season, so the progress was shown there. Sometimes these games come a wee bit early for the players, so we just need to focus on putting the building blocks in place with this squad.”
League One Ambitions and Off-Field Controversy
East Kilbride are preparing for a promotion push in League One this season. The club has been linked with the ongoing controversy surrounding Hamilton Academical, who have been accused of spending big while failing to meet pension contributions, a potential SPFL rules breach. Kennedy declined to comment on the situation, as did Airdrie manager John Rankin earlier this week.
