Andy Kirk has urged his Brechin City players to use joyous scenes from the Highland League title triumph to inspire them to play-off glory.
Brechin will host Spartans in the pyramid play-off semi-final second leg on Saturday bidding to overturn a 1-0 deficit and book their place in the final.
It’s just two weeks since Brechin claimed the championship with a dramatic late 2-0 win over Buckie Thistle.
And with that triumph that still fresh in their minds, Kirk wants his stars to bottle that feeling of success and use it to generate more.
“The Highland League title win was a special moment,” said Kirk.
“It’s one the fans will never forget and one the players should never put out of their minds.
“The way it happened, so dramatically at the end of the game, added something.
“There’s no doubt we deserved it.
“I asked the players to get through nine cup finals at the end of the season and they did.
“There was a lot of pressure on them. They couldn’t afford to drop points and hand the title to Buckie.
Pressure
“And on the last day the pressure was on us but my players rose to the occasion.
“It brought joy to the faces of so many Brechin fans. The next generation, players, staff, volunteers – everyone has been given a huge lift.
“Remembering these moments and look at images of them are things that should motivate you as a player.
“It should make you hungry for more success.
“It’s a strange thing to say we lifted silverware after a long hard league season but still haven’t played our biggest game.
“It’s the same for Spartans. Winning a league at any level takes a phenomenal effort and both clubs should be proud of their achievement.
“But the biggest game is Saturday and we’ll be ready for it.”
Andy Kirk: Brechin City have ‘huge opportunity’ against Spartans
Kirk’s men could be backed by an impressive 1,500 at Glebe Park as Brechin fans continue to support their side’s promotion bid.
And he knows they’ll have to perform better than they did in the 1-0 loss to ten man Spartans at Ainslie Park.
“It was one of our poorest performances this season,” said Kirk.
“We should have, at least, come back with the game all square.
“But there are positives. The tie is there to be won and we can play a lot better.
“Whenever I’ve asked my players for a response this season, they’ve always delivered.
“It’s on our home ground and we’ll be backed by a noisy home support.
“Spartans are a good side and we will have to up our game to get through.
“But we have a huge opportunity to do something.
“We had nine cup finals at the end of the season to win the league.
“Let’s try to get through this one and, hopefully, onto another two.”
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