Darren Miller is relishing a special occasion in the Irvine Valley this weekend.
Darvel will square off against East of Scotland League side Tynecastle in the first round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday – and veteran Miller hopes it will be a day to remember for the Ayrshire side.
It’s ‘Vale’s first-ever home draw in the competition; a replay against Brechin City last season their only other Scottish Cup experience at Recreation Park.
Miller told the Kilmarnock Standard: “I think everyone is looking forward to it, the fact we’ve not had a home draw in the senior Scottish before.
“There’s something special about the senior Scottish, the boys want a good run again and we believe that we can get to the latter rounds, why not?
“The fact we’ve been able to have a build up to this makes it even better. Saying that, with Saturday’s game being off, it’s taken the wind out of us a bit.
“But we are looking forward to it, it should be a good occasion.
“We did well last year, we did ourselves proud, so we still have that bug which makes us want to go as far as possible.
“I hope the community get behind us like usual and the fans all come out. It’ll be something they can all look back on, it’ll be a good occasion and hopefully we can make it special for them.”
He added: “Through the team we have bags of experience in the senior game, a lot of us know how to play in big games.
“A lot of us have won the Scottish at amateur level too, even at that level it still has the special novelty and gives you that experience.
“It’s a good draw at home, that’s all we can ask for.
“The park is unbelievable at the moment, the boys are just loving it the now.”
Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
