SAUCHIE boss Fraser Duncan says games don’t come much bigger than his side’s Scottish Junior Cup clash with Renfrew on Saturday.

The manager admitted that he would have been delighted to get to the last 16 before a ball was kicked this season, but now he wants his players to go even further.

And he says his charges have to understand the magnitude of the game.

Duncan told Advertiser Sport: “The game on Saturday is huge. It is massive for the club. If you had offered me the chance to get this far at the start of the season I would have bitten your hand off. I can’t put into words how important this game is for the club. I know that and the fans know that, but now the players need to understand too. They have been told in no uncertain terms how big a game it is, and how important it is that they get themselves performing at that level. We want to prepare the right way so it will be a hard week for us.”

Sauchie prepared for the crucial cup game with a friendly against amateur cup holders Colville Park, and Duncan admitted his side will have to perform much better after they slipped to a 4-3 defeat.

He said: “I’m not too happy with the performance. I don’t think we played well, but we were playing a good side who will beat a lot of teams at Junior level. Their tempo is great and they are good on the ball. They work really hard and that’s something our players could learn from. We can’t just change the tempo when it suits us and to be honest, we need to get our fingers out. But it is a good learning curve because it gives us a few things to work on ahead of Saturday. We got through the game without any injuries and it was good to get some of the boys some time on the park.”

Former Stirling Albion forward Moses Olanrewaju featured as a trialist and could sign for the club, with Duncan revealing that there is a place in his squad for the Englishman if he wants it, while Jordan Allan and Jon Tully have both moved on to Whitburn and Oakley respectively.

“There will be a deal there for Moses but it’s up to him whether it’s what he wants. We are only a Junior club so there are limits to what we can offer. I’d like to get something sorted if I can.

“Jordan and Jon have both left this week. Jordan has been a good lad during his time here but he wasn’t able to shift Greig Maitland from the number one spot. We will be looking to replace him as soon as possible. Jon has been a big player for us for about ten years. He has been a great servant but he needed to get out and get some regular game time. We wish him all the best.”