Kevin Rutkiewicz has warned his East Kilbride side that Rangers 'B' "might have their knickers in a twist" and fire in their belly when they visit K-Park in the Lowland League this evening.
The Ibrox club fell to a surprise 2-1 defeat to Civil Service Strollers in their league opener on Friday evening, and Rutkiewicz says his side might need to be wary of a backlash to that.
Kilby boss Rutkiewicz admits East Kilbride’s start to the season will be a major test of their Lowland League title credentials.
But he says up to eight teams in the 19-team league are likely to have a say in where the trophy ends up.
Kilby got off to a great start with a 3-2 win at Tranent last weekend, with back-to-back home games against Rangers ‘B’ tonight and Hearts ‘B’ on Saturday.
Rutkiewicz reckons few will have predicted Strollers' win, but says there will be a lot of surprise results, and Kilby have to make sure they don’t suffer.
“We’ve got six games in the first 19 days, and they’re all tough games,” he said.
“We’ve drawn quite a stern test immediately, and it is going to be a test of our credentials, but it’s not going to be the final result.
“If we come out of this with five wins out of five, it doesn’t mean we’re going to win the next 29 games – but if we come out of it and we’ve lost a bit of ground, it doesn’t mean we can’t make that back up.
“It will be a test of the credentials, but it’s certainly not going to paint the picture of what will come in April or May.
“In my opinion, including the ‘B’ teams, there are six or seven teams, maybe eight, that are going to have a huge say.
“The league is a lot tighter, and a lot of people have billed us as favourites.
“I’ll take the compliment, but there’s nothing won or lost on the first Saturday of the season, and we’re certainly not getting carried away with one victory.”
Rutkiewicz added: “Tranent are a fantastic side and are definitely going to have a big say in what happens this season.
“Broomhill are off to a great start with 2-1 against Spartans, who are not anybody’s mugs.
“Hearts took a lot of goals [6-0] off a Berwick team that were down to 10 men, and they’re going to bounce back from that, no doubt.
“We’ve got Rangers on Tuesday, who might have their knickers in a twist about Friday night, so they’re going to come with a bit of fire in their belly.
“I think Friday night was a great example of what this league could potentially be, with Civil turning over Rangers.
“With the greatest of respect to Civil, I don’t think a lot of us would have seen that result coming.
“I do feel that this league will throw up results, and we’ve got to try and make sure we’re not on the end of them.”
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