Highland League big kick-off: Buckie Thistle manager Graeme Stewart wants title to return to Victoria Park
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CUP finals are great for Buckie Thistle, but the Highland League is what matters to manager Graeme Stewart.
Jags begin their mission to challenge for the 2020-21 title when they head north to Wick Academy for their opening league match on Saturday.
Stewart’s men will be prepared, having played last season’s League Cup semi final and final last month, beating league champs Brora before losing out to a last-minute goal against Rothes.
Jags also took care of Banks o’ Dee in the Aberdeenshire Cup two weeks ago, and saw their quarter final at home to Aberdeen postponed midweek due to a Covid-19 scare at the Pittodrie club.
It’s all systems go now for a 15-game league programme, with Stewart keen to see his men get off to a good start.
“The league is the one I want and the fans want,” he said. “It’s the biggest prize and we’ve been fortunate to win it before in recent times, and it gives you a feeling like no other.
“Cups are brilliant to win but you can be quite lucky whereas the league if you win it, you deserve to win it. That’s what we will be concentrating on.
“Beating Brora in the cup and getting to a final, we also beat Fraserburgh to get to the final and now we’ve beaten Banks o’ Dee, so all of these things are giving us confidence.”
There will be no proper changing rooms or showers at Harmsworth Park on Saturday for Buckie to use, due to Covid-19 protocol, but Stewart said: “I know the boys will moan, but you give yourself a spray of deodorant and a rub and you get on the bus and come home.”