PORT Glasgow’s biggest game in years takes place tomorrow, when Auchinleck Talbot come to Parklea for a Scottish Cup fourth round tie.

The Ayrshire giants are 10-times winners of the national trophy, and are obviously firm favourites to progress to the last 16.

But Port manager Craig Brown is adamant his men will not be at Parklea just to make up the numbers.

And he points to an early season clash against another top Ayrshire club as evidence.

He said: “We lost 4-0 at Irvine Meadow in the West of Scotland Cup, but for long spells of that game we more than matched them, and the scoreline in no way reflected the closeness of the match. I will be looking for a similar standard tomorrow, but without the individual errors that cost so dearly.

“Of course, Auchinleck are a top side, one of the best in the country, but the boys are in good spirits, and we are all looking forward to the match.” This week’s wintry weather put paid to the Port’s normal Wednesday evening training session, with Parklea engulfed in snow.

A replacement session was arranged indoors at the Ravenscraig Sports Centre last night, but the conditions at Parklea remain a worry as match day approaches.

With more snow forecast today and into tomorrow morning, it would be a real pity if such an eagerly anticipated match was postponed until the following Saturday.

The bookies don’t expect much of a contest, pricing a Port win at 14/1, with Auchinleck 1/20 to win the match.

The Ayrshire men are also 10/3 front-runners to lift the cup for an 11th time, with the dream of a Port cup-winning triumph coming in at a crazy 250/1.

Despite the bookies forecasting no chance of an upset, Talbot boss Tommy Sloan at least paid Port Glasgow the courtesy of a spying mission, as he took in the 1-1 draw against East Kilbride at Parklea last Saturday.

But he won’t have gained that much insight into the Port’s likely formation tomorrow, as two of their new signings who played in that match, Jamie McKenna and Kevin McKay, are cup-tied with Greenock so won’t feature.

Kearn Docherty is also ruled out through a hamstring injury, while striker Scott Nugent, who sat out the East Kilbride game, is rated 50/50 to be fit enough for Saturday.

However, Mark Bowie, an unused substitute last week, looks to have recovered from his groin strain, so should come into the reckoning.

For Auchinleck, a surprise move this week saw Clyde-bound striker David Gormley recalled to the club at the 11th hour.

The paperwork for Gormley’s move to Broadwood had been all but completed until Talbot boss Sloan decided he needed the striker back at Beechwood Park, despite hardly playing him since October.

So it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see the 26-year-old given a run-out against the Port tomorrow for a match which should, weather permitting, attract a good crowd to Parklea.

Kick-off is scheduled for 1.45pm, with the match going to a replay if level after 90 minutes.

Port Glasgow Juniors are sponsored by Regents Vehicle Sales, Greenock, and MAC HSL Ltd.