Russell has a view to a start

David Christie 1563 - 1563 • Published 28 Apr 2009 12:30

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FACING an amateur side might not be every professional"s cup of tea - but that"s not the case for Ton striker Iain Russell.

He is itching to be let loose at Cappielow tonight when Morton line up against Lochwinnoch-based amateurs Viewfield Rovers in the Renfrewshire Cup semi-final.

Rovers are struggling in the Caledonian Premier Division, but recorded an emphatic 7-1 result against Carlton YMCA last week to reach the semi-final stage.

While the match, with a 7pm kick-off, represents a potential banana skin for Davie Iron"s troops, Russell is still desperate to be involved and continue his rich vein of form in the Renfrewshire Cup with a view to staking a claim for the trip to Perth on Saturday.

Russell netted four times at this stage last July in a 9-0 thumping of Carlton and then went on to score the opener against rivals St Mirren in the final.

He said: 'It"s great to get four goals in any game and I felt really sharp.

'It was also my first taste of the Renfrewshire Cup final too so it was brilliant to play in front of a big crowd and score against our rivals. Tonight will be a tough game as they will come to win.

'They will come and give it their all and if we go out thinking we are better than them then it could be a banana skin.

'If we match their workrate then we should be able to go through, but it is important we don"t take it for granted.

'Win and it means we go to St Mirren"s new ground which will be a nice way to start the new season - we don"t want to miss out on that.'

After an impressive run pre-season, the former Brechin City frontman has fallen out of favour, making just fleeting appearances from the bench. One such foray from the dugout led to a late equaliser against Ross County in Dingwall last month and the 26-year-old hopes a performance against the Rovers could force him back into the manager"s plans this weekend.

'Four goals tonight would be great, but four on Saturday would be even better,' joked Russell.

'The manager will still have decisions to make for Saturday so it"s up to me to show how much I want to be playing.

'There are a few suspensions so the team will be a bit different. I would be delighted if I got the nod and I would give it my all.'

This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 28 Apr 09

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