Brechin City defender Euan Spark believes his side are more than capable of cutting it in League Two – if they can escape the Highland League.
The Angus side sit atop their division, three points ahead of Brora and Buckie.
They also remain the only unbeaten team in the senior Scottish football leagues, following Dunfermline’s loss at the weekend.
Brechin ‘good enough’ for League Two
Their only competitive defeats have come at the hands of Inverness and Stirling Albion.
Even then, they took the Championship and League Two leaders all the way to penalties in the Challenge and Scottish Cups, respectively.
📽️ @BrechinCityFC v @Stirling_Albion
A mammoth penalty shoot-out was needed to find a winner between Brechin City and Stirling Albion, but the away side eventually took the spoils 8-7. #ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/eWguu2GXJt
— Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) October 23, 2022
Former Dundee United kid Spark has played in every league in Scotland’s professional game. He is now back for a second spell at Glebe Park at the heart of City’s defence.
From his experience, he believes his side is more than capable of cutting it in the SPFL once again.
“I played the last few years in League Two, I know well enough what the standard is like in the division,” Spark told Courier Sport.
“Coming to Brechin, I can see we are good enough. It’s a young squad, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
“They will gain experience as we go through the season. Football and fitness-wise, it’s as good a squad as any in League Two.”
So far, Brechin have only dropped points on one occasion; a 2-2 home draw with Huntly last month.
Spark says that should serve as a reminder to not take their eye off the ball and waste their promising start to the campaign.
“It has been a good start but it still hurts to have dropped points to Huntly,” the 25-year-old said. “That was a kick in the teeth.
“You can’t win the league at this stage but you can certainly lose it and we’ve put ourselves in a decent position at the top.”
‘Feel-good factor’ around Brechin
Local lad Spark feels the community are once again getting behind the side as they look to regain their place in the SPFL.
Their play-off defeat to Kelty Hearts two years ago saw Brechin fall through the trap door and into the Highland League.
Last season, despite finishing third, locals gave the side their backing.
But Spark, who runs a café and coffee roasting business in the town, believes there is a buzz about the place again – and that’s not just because of the caffeine.
“There is a feel-good factor back around the town,” he said. “I see it first-hand working in the shop.
“You get fans coming in for a coffee and talk about the games.
“After the recent years Brechin have had, and I was part of that for two years, going from getting beat then going to winning games is going to make everyone happy and encourage people to come and watch.
“You can see from the crowd we got on Saturday, all of the kids that came as well, there is a big excitement.
“This is all in the hope of us winning the league and getting promoted.
“The pressure is on. We know that but we just have to do our job every week.”
