GREENOCK return to league business tomorrow, after having played in cup ties on the past two Saturdays.

And it sees the much anticipated match against Largs Thistle, which should bring a healthy crowd to Ravenscraig Stadium.

With Thistle having a strong contingent of former Greenock and Port Glasgow players, the match is about as close as you get to an Inverclyde derby after the real thing between the two local clubs.

Managed by Greenock man Sandy MacLean, the Ayrshire club have ex-Port players Alan Frizzell, Sean Pierce and Kevin Struthers in their squad.

Pierce has returned to the Junior ranks after spells in senior football with the likes of Albion Rovers and Montrose, while young midfielder’s Frizzell’s move from the Port to the pro-youth team at Dumbarton didn’t quite work out as hoped.

Greenock might be relieved at the news that Struthers, whose performances for Port Glasgow earned him the move to then Premier League Largs, is ruled out of tomorrow’s clash.

He has sat out the last five weeks with a torn quad muscle and although he is almost back to fitness, tomorrow’s game has come a week too early for him to take part.

Former Greenock stalwart Barry McLaughlin looks set to feature, though, and will doubtless be looking forward to vying against his former team-mates.

But the Tele can reveal that Barri Stanton, who only moved from Largs to sign for Greenock two weeks ago, won’t be in the Ravenscraig men’s line-up.

As part of the signing deal, a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ was reached, which saw Greenock agree not to play Stanton in the two league games against his old club.

As well as the local rivalries, vital league points are at stake tomorrow.

After being relegated last season, Largs’ fortunes have continued to decline, and they now prop up the Super League First Division table, with no wins and just two points from six games. But they come to Ravenscraig on the back of two good cup performances, beating Saltcoats 2-0 in the West of Scotland Cup, with Frizzell getting one of the goals, while last Saturday saw them record a fine 3-1 win over Sauchie in the Scottish Cup.

But under-pressure manager MacLean will know it’s positive league results that will keep him at Barrfields Stadium.

In contrast, Greenock’s recent league form has been decent, and boss Martin Campbell has an easing of the injury and availability problems which saw him only able to list four subs for last week’s Scottish Cup tie against Newtongrange Star, which ended in a disappointing 4-0 defeat.

Thomas Docherty, who was away last Saturday, is now back, and skipper Tam Jamieson, who has been missing through injury for a few weeks, has resumed training this week and comes back into contention.

However, Brendan Gillan has still been unable to train, while work commitments mean it’s a case of wait and see for Sean Docherty to determine his availability on match day.

Campbell says the Largs game has come at just the right time after the downer of being knocked out of the Scottish.

He said: “I don’t think we played badly last week, although admittedly we didn’t create too many scoring chances.

“Of course, though, it was disappointing to go out the cup, but there will be no hangover from that, and the prospect of facing Largs has been a great tonic for the players, who are really looking forward to it.” Kick-off at Ravenscraig is at 2pm.

Greenock Juniors are sponsored by SAVEHEAT, and the Lighthouse Bar. The Lighthouse is providing additional sponsorship for this specific match.