Edinburgh City's Mark Weir wants a taste of Meadowbank magic in cup

Goalkeeper Mark Weir is raring to go against Dunfermline. Picture: Erin West.

The Citizens have won three on the bounce in League Two and are just a point off the promotional play-offs.

With young striker Connor Young sitting top goalscorer in the country with 13 goals in as many games, former Bonnyrigg No.1 Weir believes there's no reason why Michael McIndoe's men can't spring a shock at Meadowbank by sending the Fifers crashing out of the competition at the third round.

"If you look at the start of the season we played a couple of Premiership and Championship clubs in the League Cup and results didn't go our way," Weir explained. "We were just gelling as a team. But fast forward three or four months and the confidence has grown, we are more familiar with each other and we've won our last three games. We do know it's going to be an extremely tough ask but one we're not afraid off. We're going to play our game and hopefully do what we do best.

"It's cup football. We've already been to Lesser Hampden and lost 1-0 to Queen's Park (SPFL Trust Trophy). But we played well, created chances and hit the post so we know we can compete if we're on our game. I've had some good upsets with Bonnyrigg so I want that to continue."

Weir revealed there was a real sense of frustration within the squad after last Saturday's visit of East Fife fell foul of the cold weather. The 33-year-old says manager McIndoe's philosophy is really beginning to pay dividends out on the pitch.

"We want the good times to keep rolling if you want to call it that, so having last weekend's match postponed was really disappointing," he said. "We had the manager, the assistant manager and about another 25 volunteers out there clearing the pitch but the referee decided it wasn't playable. I think there was only one lower league game that did go ahead so it wasn't really too much of a surprise.

"We're playing well so we want the games to come around fast. Most teams in the lower leagues it's more physical and direct so we are different to a lot of sides. As first it was quite difficult to get used to because if I'm being honest, I'm not exactly like Ederson or Alisson who are comfortable playing out from the back.

"But the more encouraged I am to do it, the more comfortable I'm getting. It's much more beneficial to be playing that style of football and everyone is now buying into it. You can see over the last few weeks that we're now getting results.

"I only need to think back to when I was at Stirling last year. I think it was our second or third last game of the season and we played Edinburgh City at Meadowbank. The gaffer was obviously limited in what he could do recruitment-wise but we were really impressed with how they played.

"The quality might not have been all there and that's no disrespect to the boys that played, but the football was really good. I then spoke to the manager and it was his style that appealed to me having experienced it first-hand. So, it's great to see it all coming together and it can be a joy to watch from my position on the pitch."

It's going to take an heroic effort from all in white if they are to stand a chance of sending James McPake's men home with their tails between their legs. However, Weir believes youngster Young could prove to be a trump card.

"You can see why Rangers spent the money to take him from Hibs when he was younger," Weir said. "He was unlucky last year with how things panned out at Clyde and their situation, but he's at Edinburgh City and the gaffer has put 100% trust in him. The more minutes he's getting, the more chances he's taking. If he keeps his head down, keeps working then he will only get better. He's scoring a lot of goals but he's done a lot of good work that goes under the radar."