Mitchell happy to settle for a place on the bench

CLUB captain Wes Mitchell will be happy just to make the Musselburgh bench at Rugby Park after missing most of the season through injury.

The big defender picked up a back injury towards the end of last season and only returned to the side in the final few weeks of the current campaign.

His hopes of securing a starting place against Auchinleck look to have been dashed by a knock he took against Kelty a fortnight ago. But he is eager to at least be among the substitutes for the biggest day in the East Lothian club's history.

"It looks as though I am losing my battle to try and secure a starting spot after having to come off after 70 minutes against Kelty," he said.

"I thought it would be okay by now but I still felt it at training the other night and obviously I'm now starting to count the days left to try and prove my fitness.

"I think I might be struggling but I will still be part of it on Sunday and, even if I'm on the bench, I will certainly be cheering the boys on."

Of the cup final squad, Mitchell is one of the longest-serving Musselburgh players and he knows better than most what it would mean to the club to lift the trophy.

He's played in Musselburgh teams that have tasted plenty of success in recent seasons and reckons manager David McGlynn has done an amazing job at Olivebank.

"I think we have improved every season since the manager came in and that's testament to the great work he's done here," added Mitchell. "We've been involved in a lot of cup finals and also won promotion to the Super League for the first time.

"This season it's almost as though we've had one team playing in the Super League and another in the Junior Cup.

"But, having secured our spot in the Super League for next season, we can now go to Rugby Park and enjoy it."