AUCHINLECK TALBOT striker Mark Shankland is keen to stress that tomorrow’s Scottish Junior Cup final against Hurlford United is far from a foregone conclusion.

His team have been the dominant force in the competition over the years, racking up a record eleven titles and they are currently sitting top of the West Superleague, a whopping 23 points clear of their Ayrshire opponents, Hurlford.

But after losing out in last year’s final, Shankland, who has found the back of the net eight times already this season, knows that Talbot are far from a sure thing to lift the cup tomorrow at Rugby Park.

“We don’t go in expecting to win - I think it’s important not to have that mindset,” he said.

“In Auchinleck, a lot of people think it’s straightforward that we’re going to win and people often don’t call it the Scottish Cup Final, they call it the Talbot Final because how often we’ve been there the last few years. But it’s important not to get carried away because we have a job to do tomorrow.”

And with the game live on television, Shankland, who once plied his trade with Ayr United, is confident that the final will showcase the junior game.

“This is a great chance to show people what junior football is all about,” he said.

“It’s good to show people that there are players who can easily make the step up to senior football and it’s not all big rough bruisers.”