Cup treble should be Linlithgow target '“ new boss Lumsden

Todd Lumsden was appointing Linlithgow Rose manager on Monday

Rose were knocked out of the William Hill Scottish Cup at the second-round stage by Stirling Albion last month, but are still competing in the Junior Cup, Fife and Lothians, and East of Scotland Cup.

Lumsden was chosen as the man to lead the Prestonfield club on Monday night, having impressed since taking charge on a caretaker basis after David McGlynn resigned last month.

Rose are 18 points adrift of Super League leaders Kelty Hearts having played two games less. However, Lumsden has warned their rivals not to discount his side in the title race.

“Our own internal expectations are to try and challenge as high up the league as we can,” said Lumsden. “I think the points total that the teams have got at the top of the league is quite large – all we can do is look after our own business a game at a time and see where that takes us.

“The gap at the moment is quite large but all we can do is keep chipping away. We could be having a totally different conversation in seven weeks time. It could be [too much of an ask to win the league] but football is a funny game. If Kelty and Bonnyrigg keep winning it will be difficult. Ultimately, all we can do is look after ourselves.”

Rose, regarded as one of the biggest names in Junior football, have gone without silverware since Danny Smith led them to the Fife and Lothians Cup at the end of season 2013/14.

Former Arbroath boss Lumsden is desperate to end their wait for a trophy this season.

He continued: “The performance in the William Hill Scottish Cup was excellent so the actual result was a real disappointment. We were really good against Clydebank in the Junior Cup last week so hopefully we can keep moving forward with that performance.

“If we can win a cup, two cups or three cups that would be a tremendous achievement and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be setting that as a target for the rest of the season by saying ‘we’re currently in three cups, lets try and win them’.

“The Junior Cup is the most prestigious one, so the problem with that is not only Linlithgow wants to win it, everybody else wants to win it.”