Kelty Hearts today.
Maybe the big Hearts in a few weeks.
Try telling Jeanfield Swifts that the romance of the Scottish Cup isn’t what it once was.
On the second occasion Perth’s second team have taken part in the country’s most prestigious knock-out football competition, they have secured a place in the first round proper.
Their big-spending opponents with even bigger ambitions are weighty Boxing Day opponents.
But Jeanfield manager Ross Gunnion takes a team to Fife that is unbeaten in the East of Scotland Premier Division and won’t be intimidated by the club with the SPFL credentials and players.
Gunnion isn’t looking beyond Barry Ferguson’s Kelty to who Swifts could draw in round two when the likes of Dundee, Dunfermline and Hearts go into the hat.
He certainly isn’t dismissing the prospect, though.
“Some of the Kelty guys have been full-time and some of them still could be if they wanted to be,” Gunnion told Courier Sport.
“Let’s be honest, they’re playing at Kelty because of the financial benefits of dropping down to that level.
“That’s not a criticism because the one thing I’d say about Kelty compared to others who have tried it is their way is sustainable. They’ve got a good fan base, good sponsorship and really work hard as a club behind the scenes.
“They should already be in League Two really. They would have been strong favourites to go up through the play-offs last season.
“I think we’re playing arguably one of the top three sides in the competition.”
Anybody who thinks there is a huge gulf between the East of Scotland Premier Division and the league below the SPFL would be mistaken, according to Gunnion. And Jeanfield’s results when they have been tasked with bridging the gap in recent seasons are the proof.
“I think our league is more competitive,” he said.
“Week in, week out, we’re never able to rest on our laurels. There are nine or 10 teams who can challenge at the top. In the Lowland League there are probably three.
“I believe that if any of the top three or four teams in our league were playing in the Lowland they’d be top half of the table. I genuinely do.
“We’ve comfortably beaten Caledonian Braves and Stirling Uni this season. And we’ve beaten East Kilbride and Civil Service Strollers in the past as well.
“I’d like to think we’ll give Kelty a better game than the majority of the Lowland League. Hopefully we will.
“They’ll be massively strong favourites but I think they play a lot of sides who just want to keep the score down. That won’t be our attitude.
“Barry Ferguson and Bob Malcolm demand very high standards and if they play to their ability, they’ll beat us. But if they don’t, who knows.”
When Jeanfield made the transition from junior to senior Gunnion was determined it would be a substantive football culture change, not just window-dressing.
The squad he has assembled, with young and hungry Perth players at the heart of it, backs that vision up.
“Eighteen months to two years ago we made a conscious decision to really focus on youth and get away from the journeyman thing,” he explained. “Guys around 29, 30.
“It’s maybe been a bit unfair on some of the players who have left but we wanted to have a different focus and see what we could develop.
“We saw the benefits at some points last season – one-off games we could be a match for anyone – but it’s been this season when it’s really clicked.”
The short-term pain for long-term gain theory was in evidence when Jeanfield were knocked out of last season’s Scottish Cup by Linlithgow Rose. Swifts played nice football but Rose had Tommy Coyne and others with the sort of old-school savvy that has to be lived not learned.
“Absolutely,” said Gunnion. “That game is the perfect example.
“In the league we drew with them away and beat them at home but when it came to the Scottish Cup they were very street-wise, didn’t rush things and knew when to sit in and make it hard for us.
“Not panicking or rushing is born out of experience. It’s not about ability. That’s what we’ve improved.
“What we’ve got now is very simple – we’ve got two centre-halves who have an understanding with each other, an experienced goalkeeper and a settled midfield and frontline. There’s a spine with talent, youth and experience and we only added one player in the summer.”
For both teams, this match should put into context how far they have travelled in a short time.
“The last occasion we played Kelty was their last game as a junior side, funnily enough,” said Gunnion.
“And we beat them 2-1 on their home ground. It was four years ago.”
Swifts date back to 1928 and have enjoyed some celebrated days in the sun over the subsequent nine-and-a-bit decades. For Gunnion, an ex-player, this fixture goes straight to the top of the list.
“There will be guys who can remember crowds of 5,000 or so for Scottish Junior Cup quarter-finals but it’s certainly the biggest game I can remember,” he said.
“I think it probably is the biggest for a Perth junior or semi-professional side.
“The number keeps changing but I think we’re allowed 24 people on our match day list so there will be a few Jeanfield people there.
“It goes without saying that we would have taken a really good support in normal times.
“There’s definitely still a big buzz, though.
“We could have got a more winnable tie, you could say, but I’d much rather we got an exciting one like this that will attract a bit of attention.”
And the prospect of an even higher profile fixture, with everything that brings, is the obvious incentive at New Central Park.
“I would take the Hearts of the first half in Sunday’s cup final but maybe not the second half!” Gunnion joked.
“There are some huge clubs who will be coming into the draw for the next round.
“We don’t run our club on the basis of income from the cups but we got £7,000 for getting through the first qualifying round, there will be £4,000 for playing this one and I think the next round is worth £8,000.
“That’s a massive sum of money for a club like us.”
Whatever the result at Kelty, Jeanfield are undeniably a club on an upward trajectory. There are plans to further develop their Riverside facilities and the creation of an under-20s team, managed by former Montrose player Alan Campbell, plugged a hole in their age-group pathway.
“We’ve got boys coming through and it was important there was a development team between 17 and 18 and the first team,” said Gunnion.
“We’ve got sustainable roots.
“There are boys from St Johnstone who train with us and they can see that we’re helping them. In the old junior days they might have feared we’d do them more harm than good.
“Shaun Struthers (ex-Saints) could be playing at a higher level but he was desperate to sign for us.
“We’re a very real choice for players of that quality.
“Ordinarily, they’d be sitting tight for SPFL clubs to come on the phone. Not anymore.”
