The New Saints will travel to Scotland today ahead of their Irn-Bru Cup semi-final against St. Mirren on Sunday (4.10).
The Welsh Premier League runaway leaders have fared well in the competition so far this season and have already enjoyed success on their travels eliminating Forfar Athletic and Livingston.
The squad will train at Celtic’s Lennoxtown Training Centre later on Saturday as they prepare to face a St.Mirren side, who’re struggling at the foot of the Scottish Championship.
The New Saints saw their own form take an unexpected dip last week when their remarkable 31-match unbeaten run came to an end with a 1-0 defeat against Carmarthen – but they are raring to go despite that surprise loss.
“To play two away games and win them both before now having a one-off away game at a Scottish Championship club with a chance to get to the final, it’s a fantastic opportunity for us and one we’ll be looking to grab with both hands,” manager Craig Harrison told FAW.TV.
“I think the situation suits us down to the ground really, because they’ll be under pressure to go on and beat us – no-one up there is expecting us to do anything, because we’re just the Welsh team in their eye.
“That piles the pressure on them and we’re a threat to anyone on our day, so playing away from home with a team that will come out and try to win the game by meeting us in the middle of the park, I think that helps us and hopefully we can do the job on Sunday,” he added.
The Saints are hopeful that influential winger Ryan Brobbel will be available to them after coming off early against Carmarthen, and Harrison is believed to have close to a fully-fit squad available to him.
Having already secured the League Cup and being virtually guaranteed to retain their Welsh Premier League title, the club are aiming for success on four fronts this season with the Welsh Cup and Irn-Bru Cup still up for grabs.
A hat-trick from Greg Draper saw TNS advance 3-1 against Forfar in the competition’s fourth round and goals from Ryan Parry, Steven Saunders and Scott Quigley gave the Saints a convincing 3-0 win against Livingston, as they booked their place in the last four.
Previously known as the Scottish Challenge Cup, the competition was rebranded this season to include sides from Northern Ireland and Wales.
Queen of the South play Dundee United in the other semi-final tie.
TNS probable: Harrison; Spender, Saunders, Rawlinson, Marriott; Edwards, Routledge; Brobbel (Quigley), Darlington, Cieslewicz; Draper.
Featured image courtesy of TNS FC/Welsh Premier League
