Irvine manager beats Hibs boss in spying game

Although Hughes immediately pledged to learn all he could about the Ayrshire Junior outfit the moment they were paired together in the fourth round, his hopes of building up a thorough dossier have been hit by the weather.

Hughes managed to dispatch a spy to see "The Medda" in a Scottish Junior Cup tie against Aberdeen club Hillhead, a game they comfortably won 5-0. But that match, on 5 December, was the last competitive action for Strain's players.

But while Hughes has been denied a first-hand look at Saturday's opponents, Strain has been doing his homework on Hibs, having each match watched while taking in the Edinburgh club's SPL encounters with Kilmarnock and Rangers.

He said: "I think I might know a bit more about Hibs than they will about us."

And if few would expect Irvine, who earned the right to face Hibs by knocking out Third Division Arbroath in the previous round, to perform a giant-killing act, Strain believes they can, at least, cause Hughes' players a few anxious moments.

He said: "Hibs are a smashing side, very offensive minded but they seem to take chances and leave themselves a bit bare at the back at times.

"If that happens then hopefully we can take advantage and perhaps get something to hold onto; if that's the case then I hope we score something like four seconds from the end."

Strain admitted that having missed out on a hoped-for clash with either Rangers or Celtic, Hibs were his next preference, revealing the money earned from this weekend will help ensure Irvine's immediate future.

He said: "If we'd drawn another Third Division club we might have had a chance of going through again. But if it wasn't one of the Old Firm then Hibs were the next best given the way they have been playing.

"One of our major sponsors was forced to pull out because of the economic climate so drawing one of the SPL's major sides will secure the rest of the season and beyond for us. We'll be able to pay the players' wages and shouldn't have to make any cuts.

"There's a great excitement, a terrific buzz about the town because of this match. Everyone is looking forward to it and with more than 2000 tickets sold I don't think we'll be too far away from filling that South Stand at Easter Road.

"It's a historic occasion, the first Junior club to face an SPL side in the Scottish Cup, one we've done well to win for ourselves and a match we are all looking forward to."

While Irvine's inaction may have thwarted Hughes' bid to build a complete picture of Saturday's opponents it has, of course, proved something of a double-edged sword with Strain's players confined to a friendly against St Mirren earlier this week and training sessions on the local beach.

But, nevertheless, he believes few of his players will be fazed by the occasion, the likes of Richie Barr, scorer of their goal against Arbroath, having been on Hibs' books as a kid while Emilio Jaconelli played for Kilmarnock, Mark Crilly was a team-mate of Hughes at Ayr United and Brian McGinty once played in a winning Rangers side at Easter Road before playing for St Mirren.

Strain added: "It's been a long wait for us since the draw was made. We've managed the odd friendly, we've trained on the beach and have managed to find some indoor facilities but it is not the same.

"We've got a lot of experience in lads who played in the lower divisions for quite a while.

"Junior football in Ayrshire doesn't have the reputation it once did even five or ten years ago.

"There's a lot more senior players in our game, the standard of football has improved dramatically but is still very competitive. I think some senior players look at the wages in Junior football, see there's not much difference without a lot of the travelling and see it as a good place to play.

"So hopefully we'll be able to give a good account of ourselves in Edinburgh. It promises to be a day for all of us to remember."