Tranent aim to capitalise on Bonnyrigg fatigue in King Cup Final

Tranent defied expectations to lift the East of Scotland Cup and Fife and Lothians trophy in their second-last season as a Junior club, and will hope to prevail as underdogs once again to secure their first silverware as a Senior club when they take on East of Scotland champions Bonnyrigg Rose in the King Cup final at Prestonfield tomorrow.

They didn’t learn of their opponents until Wednesday night, when Bonnyrigg prevailed in extra-time in a battle of the Roses, but it is the match Tranent wanted according to Inglis, in his third spell at the club, as he believes they will be far more fresher than a fatigued Rose outfit who have been competing on all fronts for several weeks now.

“The boys would rather have Bonnyrigg due to the fact the amount of games they have played. They have had a hard season and have been playing constantly, so hopefully we should be sharper.

“For us, we were more bothered about where the game was going to get played, which wasn’t decided until we found out Bonnyrigg had won. We were looking to get the best surface as possible because of the way we play.”

The 34-year-old has been at his top of his game this season after returning to the club at the end of last November from Haddington Athletic when Max Christie was in charge, but he quit just two months after Inglis had come through the door and Calvin Shand is now the gaffer.

The keeper was the hero last Saturday in their semi-final penalty shootout victory over Crossgates Primrose as he saved the decisive spot-kick in a 6-5 win after a 2-2 draw against the Fife outfit.

“I was at Haddington at the beginning of the season, then I heard there was a wee bit of interest from Tranent. Once I found out that my mind wasn’t in the game and I was looking for that move back to Tranent,” continued Inglis, who lifted the South Division title in his previous spell at the club under then manager Gary Small.

“Since I’ve come back, I’ve been a different machine in goals, I’ve been performing well every week and I am just delighted to be back. It has got me going again, got me wanting to play. When you get older it is harder to keep that focus so much with everyone being so young.

“I won’t be moving anywhere else. This is where it started for me, and I’ll be happy if I finish it off here. It is a club that is close to my heart. I will play as long as I can and when my time is up, that will be me. I feel as fit as I have ever been.”

Not that Inglis is planning to call time on his playing career anytime soon, however. He can’t wait to be a part of Shand’s side next season in the 16-team East of Scotland League which resembles an old East Super League, and believes the Tranent players can set their expectations high with the former Musselburgh Athletic gaffer at the helm.

“Over the last few weeks he has started to put his mark on how he wants us to play football next season. His football brain is second to none, he has a really good knowledge of the game. It is good to see what next season is going to bring with his style of football – and it’s looking good.

“Next season we will be looking to target the top half that’s for sure. I can’t see the club, players or the management looking at anything less than a top-half finish. It might be another building season for us to see how things go, there will be a few teams challenging looking to go up first.”