THE family resemblance is unmistakeable, even if the footballing one isn't always quite so obvious. Like his father Andy, a member of Alex MacDonald's side which went down narrowly to both halves of the Old Firm in Scottish Cup finals in the early 90s, Jack Smith is a striker. Yet while his 21-year-old son has inherited those trademark lugs, on the pitch he is more about flaring pace and prolific goalscoring than pointy-elbowed hold up play.

Smith Jnr's 28th of the season, a fine right-footed strike on a bouncing ball from 22 yards, helped book the biggest match of East Kilbride's brief existence, against Celtic in the last 16 of the William Hill Scottish Cup at New Douglas Park, Hamilton on Sunday February 7. That means he has one more than both Leigh Griffiths and Martyn Waghorn this season and earmarks him as the main threat when the Parkhead side come to town, unless one of the senior clubs who are currently monitoring his progress can persuade Kilby to part with their prized asset before that match. For the record, his dad reckons his boy, who had a spell in the St Mirren youth ranks as a kid, is already a far better player than he was.

“There have been some [clubs looking at Jack] but I think we just wanted to get this tie out of the way and then we can see what happens," said Smith Snr. "I don’t go on about my exploits too much because it’s all about him now. He wasn’t on top of his game on Wednesday but it’s always been a sign of a good player when you can score even though you’re not at your best. To be honest, I get more nervous watching Jack than I used to be before games that I played in.

“He’s 21 and I was the same age when I left Peterhead to join Airdrie in the senior ranks," added the former Scotland B cap who racked up more than 100 senior appearances for both Airdrie and Dunfermline. "But that’s where the similarities stop because he’s a far better footballer than I was!

"He’s not really a chip off the old block. Jack is a lot quicker, for a start, and he’s a better finisher. He should have a good future in the game. After all these years he’s bored listening to my stories so I’ll need to listen to his now."

His son already has one new employer - he embarks on an apprenticeship as an electrical engineer with HF Electrical on Monday. He also said he would love to emulate his father's achievements. “Every Saturday night when he’s had a couple of beers he digs out the YouTube clips," said Jack. "He did alright – and scored a few goals. He never stops going on about his goal against Rangers at Hampden [in the 1992 Scottish Cup final against Rangers] – although there was a wee deflection on it!

“I’m starting a new job on Monday, it’s an electrical engineering apprenticeship and I’m looking forward to it," he added. "Hopefully I don’t have a shift on the day of the Celtic game or if I do I’m allowed to take it off. It will be brilliant to play against the likes of Leigh Griffiths and Scott Brown. I think we’ll be relaxed as there is no pressure on us – the pressure is on them. But we know how tough it will be.

“I’ll look to score – I’d love to score against Celtic. It would be good for the CV. I was too tired for celebrations after the game, I’m afraid. It was a Chinese and straight to bed.”

Kilby currently sit fifth in the Lowland League and will clearly be expected to be cannon fodder for the reigning Premiership champions and one-time European Cup winners but Smith Snr hopes they can do themselves justice, knowing the six-figure sum the tie will generate from the experience will set the club up for the foreseeable future. The tricky Anton Brady played against Celtic in his past life with St Mirren, while striker Liam Gormley once played in a Youth Cup final in the Parkhead club's colours, and Smith Snr expects them to do themselves justice.

“I’ve been travelling all over the country watching Lowland League games and there are a lot of really good players in this division," said Smith Snr. "Maybe some of them don’t want to go into the full-time game but there are others who could easily do it, including a few at East Kilbride.

"The manager, Billy Ogilvie, has said it’ll be an education for them all and it will be but they’ll still want to put in a good performance on the day," he added. "It’s important they show some belief and do themselves justice. But, looking at the bigger picture, the most important thing is the money that will come to the club and help them to go forward. The guys who run East Kilbride do a great job and they deserve this.”