Greenock Wanderers take a break from league action tomorrow when they open their RBS Scottish Cup campaign against Dalziel at Carfin.

The national cup competition will follow last season’s format and starts with a regional group stage in which Wanderers have been drawn alongside Dalziel and Glasgow Hutchesons / Aloysians. The sides will play each other once, with the section winner progressing to the knock-out stages early in the New Year.

For Wanderers tomorrow’s fixture is an excellent opportunity to put some indifferent league form behind them and kick-start their season, with a trip to Lanarkshire to face the side currently rooted to the bottom of Championship Division A.

Dalziel have lost all 11 league matches this season and are enduring a torrid time for such a proud and respected club. They failed to register a point at Fort Matilda in September when they were dispatched 26-0, but despite that, Wanderers would be unwise to take the match lightly.

The hosts are capable of raising their game and, indeed, drew with the Greenock side in a league match at Carfin last January. Some of this season’s defeats have been by slender margins.

Last weekend they lost at home to Falkirk by 35-15 but according to reports from both camps, Dalziel equipped themselves well in a performance that much-belied their lowly league position.

Wanderers will focus on their own predicament and, unfortunately for the locals, the season has unravelled somewhat in recent weeks with three defeats being recorded in a row.

Four wins from 11 league games is a disappointing return from a group of players who are capable of mixing it with the best in the division and beyond. Granted, some results were close and could have gone either way.

But the bottom line is that in a results-driven business the win/lose ratio tends to be the sole performance indicator against which things are judged.

The mood down Fort Matilda way though remains upbeat and positive and the reality is that they are on track to secure at least a seventh place finish in the league which will secure national league status next term.

President John McDougall said: “The cup competition is a good distraction for us and we will use tomorrow’s fixture to regroup after a few bad results.

Defeats obviously affect confidence but we will ask the players to go out and express themselves and show the self-belief that was such a significant part of our success earlier in the season.

“Very often the strength and character of a side shines through after a period of adversity and we are looking for that reaction tomorrow.” The Wanderers selection has been freshened up and several fringe players have the opportunity to impress the selectors in tomorrow’s earlier than normal, lunchtime showdown.

The Dalziel playing surface is one of the best in the country and the reshuffled Greenock backline, with experimental half-back pairing Kris Mathie and Jamie Cuffe calling the shots, should enjoy the wide open spaces and look to release strike runners Brendan McGroarty and James Kemp at every opportunity.

As always though a prerequisite for slick back play is good quality possession and with Matt Gray, Ally Abernethy and John Stewart being rested this week, the responsibility for ensuring a decent quota of ball falls on the shoulders of senior pack members Murray McDonald and Callum Robb.

Youngsters Anton Ward and Alex Lyon will join Robb in the breakaway trio and they will require to stamp their authority on proceedings to ensure that Wanderers edge the contest at the contact zone.

Ball retention and presentation at the breakdown has been sloppy in recent weeks and Robb, Ward and Lyon will ensure that any scraps are tidied up and served to scrum-half Mathie in a manner that allows the Wanderers playmaker and link man time to assess his options.

All winning and losing streaks end eventually and the squad has worked hard on the training paddock this week to shake off their mid-season malaise. They are one win and a good performance away from getting back on track and the will and determination is there to make that happen tomorrow.

Dalziel will provide stiff opposition but the wise money goes on a Greenock renaissance and if they get into the groove early and break down the hosts’ resistance with some incisive passages of play, then a comfortable victory should result.

The match at Carfin kicks-off at 12.30pm.

For those not travelling to Carfin and who prefer their rugby at a more sedentary pace, the 3rd XV host Glasgow University at Fort Matilda, kicking off at noon.

- Wanderers are sponsored by Texas Instruments.