Brora Rangers could become Highland League champions on Saturday if they beat Rothes - Manager is determined to make that happen
Brora Rangers will win the Highland League if they can defeat Rothes at Dudgeon Park in the final game of the season.
Manager Steven Mackay says it would mean everything to the players if they can celebrate lifting the trophy in front of their fans on Saturday afternoon.
The Cattachs are level on points with Brechin City going into the last weekend of the league season, but with a vast superior goal difference of 29, they only need to worry about ensuring victory.
Brora Rangers take on a Rothes team who will finish bottom of the table after only picking up three wins this season.
Mackay says he is not taking anything as a foregone conclusion, knowing major upsets can happen in football.
“Football can do funny things if you take your eye off the ball,” he said.
“We will look to get the job done on Saturday and then we can enjoy what has been a challenging but rewarding season for us.
“I have been in this game too long. It is top against bottom and we are favourites, no question about that. We look at that game as a huge opportunity to pull the league title over the line.
“We played Hearts in the Scottish Cup where we didn’t train for three months and only had five training sessions and the odds were stacked in their favour to comprehensively beat us. But they didn’t. We will prepare right and we know what the prize is.”
The Highland League title race has swung back and forth between Brora and Brechin this season, but Brechin looked to be firmly in the driving seat when they defeated the Cattachs 2-0 at Dudgeon Park last month to go three points clear.
But Brechin City lost their following match at Inverurie Locos which allowed Brora to regain pole position as they have won every game since.
Mackay paid tribute to his players for never giving up in the title race and says they will deserve to become champions if they beat Rothes on Saturday.
He said: “At the start of the season, middle of the season and even in the final few weeks after the back to back defeats to Buckie and Brechin, we would have snatched your hand off for this scenario.
“It is in our hands and hopefully we can get the win on Saturday.
“There has been a lot of doubt of the squad and question marks over the mentality of the squad as we have a lot of younger players who have never experienced a title run in.
“Huge question marks were on us and after the defeat to Brechin the advantage was with them. The pressure was on both us to win the last six games of the season. We have won five and they have slipped up. We have been able to capitalise on that and it is in our hands. But I am taking nothing for granted.
“Football can do funny things if you take the eye off the ball, we will look to get the job done on Saturday and then we can enjoy what has been a challenging but rewarding season for us.”
Mackay says it would mean everything to everyone associated with Brora Rangers to win the Highland League title on Saturday, saying there has been a huge effort from everyone involved to get it into the position it is in.
“It would be huge for everyone at the club,” he said.
“You look back and we were awarded the Highland League title during the covid-hit season, but we never got a chance to enjoy it.
“The fans didn’t get the chance to enjoy and neither did the players and the league was cut short. It was a bit of an anti-climax.
“This has been a long time coming for everyone and if we get the job done, it will be a fantastic day for everyone as it is a long time coming.”