King aiming to get the full taste of cup glory

CHRIS KING got a taste of Scottish Cup glory last May - and now he's got his sights set on the full experience with Musselburgh in this season's Emirates-sponsored competition.

The striker watched from the Rugby Park stands as Linlithgow lifted the trophy last season after being Cup-tied with Musselburgh before his move to Prestonfield. He still savoured the occasion and, after a recent move back to Olivebank, is hoping he can be in the thick of the action in this year's final with David McGlynn's side.

"I went to the final and it was a great occasion," said King after scoring a double in the 5-0 win over Renfrew that secured Musselburgh's spot in the quarter-finals. I would love to have been involved but I still enjoyed what was a good day and night. It would be brilliant to get to that stage again.

"I was moaning the day Linlithgow played Clydebank (in an earlier round this season) that I didn't get on, but it has proved to be a good thing as I wouldn't have been able to play for Musselburgh."

A great link-up player as well as being a proven finisher, King's move to Linlithgow came as no real surprise.

But, after making his mark at the start for Dave Baikie's side, he soon became disgruntled on the bench and having to be content with cameo roles.

"I don't know why it went wrong at Linlithgow," he admitted. "I had a great start and was top-scorer until I left. For some reason the manager stopped playing me and I asked why that was. He said I would have to wait for my chance but I was only getting five minutes at the end of games. I had to start playing again and coming back here was a good move as I had enjoyed it here before. I've got no regrets about it (leaving Linlithgow), especially as I am happy being back at Musselburgh. I like the way Musselburgh play as we are an attacking team and it's pleasing to have scored a few goals already since I returned."

King was the tormentor in chief against Renfrew, opening the scoring early on with a superb free-kick from 25 yards then adding a penalty early in the second-half to make it 3-0.

According to him, Musselburgh fancied their chances when they saw their opponents take the field with a goalkeeper who was certainly no spring chicken and a couple of centre halves who looked to be carrying a few extra pounds.

"We'd heard a bit about them and thought it was going to be a hard game, but we realised there back four wasn't going to be the best back four we're likely to face and we are always capable of scoring goals," said King.

"It was a great start and it was great to go in 2-0 up at the break. There's always that worry in the back of your head that we can let in goals so it was good to get the third one early in the second-half.

"We're looking forward to the next round now. We are hoping to get a good run in this and we're also still in another Cup.

"Our League position is a bit of a downer but all we need to get are a couple of wins to lift us up the table.

"And there's no reason why we can't. The boys had a bad start and played most of their games away due to the work being done on the pavilion.

"Two or three wins in a row would bump us up the league." King's mood after the win over Renfrew was in marked contrast to a recent home game against Bathgate, when he was red-carded for swearing at a fan. "I'd had a bad attitude when here before and the supporter simply wound me up," he admitted. "I thought a straight red was a bit harsh but I served my punishment and am happy to be back."

• HADDINGTON ATHLETIC striker Joe Murray is available for transfer. Any interested parties should contact Tom Thornton on 07878 333586.