East Kilbride boss Kevin Rutkiewicz admits it’s surreal that his side are the away team against Motherwell ‘B’ at their own K-Park ground this evening.
But he says the SPFL Trust Trophy first round clash will give him an idea of players who might be available on loan further down the line.
The Fir Park club’s second string are ground-sharing in East Kilbride, but Rutkiewicz says it gives his side another opportunity to get used to their new surface.
He said: “It is a wee bit surreal, but I’m delighted to get on the park to be honest, in a game that isn’t in the league, just to get us more time on the surface. We’re still getting used to it.
“But we’re at ‘home’, we’ll feel at home, so hopefully we can turn up and give a good account of ourselves.”
Rutkiewicz expected Motherwell to still be in the Europa Conference League qualifiers by this point, but boss Graham Alexander stepping down has also added an element of mystery.
With academy director Stevie Hammell stepping up as caretaker boss, and under-18 coach Brian Kerr as assistant, Rutkiewicz isn’t sure who will be in the visitors' dug-out.
He said: “We don’t know who will be taking the team – Brian Kerr, an ex-East Kilbride manager, would have been there, but he’s stepped up to being on the bench with Hammy.
“It will be a strange night all round – you’re the away team playing at home, they’ve got a temporary manager, in a cup game against another full-time side.
“I’m hopeful that we can put on a show, and as long as we give a good performance, bring our ‘A’ game, then we’ll always give ourselves a chance.
“I can’t get enough of these games, because it gives us good education about players that could become available at some point for East Kilbride.
“It gives us a good perimeter of where our fitness and sharpness are, and to maybe look at some boys who haven’t had much game-time.
“We can also rest a few that went into the Celtic game carrying a couple of niggles, so we’ll assess that.”
Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.
