Praise nice but Heriot-Watt boss dismisses any title bid

Heriot-Watt University boss Banji Koya admits that despite recent praise from their East of Scotland League rivals, he still believes his team are some way off from being considered genuine title contenders.

Tommy Crease in red for Hawick Royal Albert tries to get past a Heriot-Watt player

Both Leith Athletic’s Derek Riddel and Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale’s Raymond Carr have highlighted the terrific form of the students – Watt are currently joint-second on 22 points alongside Lothian with leaders Leith two points better off. Koya, however, insists his young squad are not yet equipped to launch a serious challenge.

“It’s nice to hear and we appreciate the compliments, but we know our resources aren’t as good as some of the other teams,” Koya stressed ahead of the match away to Burntisland Shipyard tomorrow.

“We’re aspiring to be where those teams are but we’re still behind in a lot of aspects. I know both Derek and Raymond really well so it’s good for them to say that. I actually went to the game between Leith and Lothian last week with us not playing (Lothian won 3-0) and I thought Lothian deserved the win. They played well but we can’t control what they do. We’ve just got to keep the focus on ourselves and try and get another three points over at Burntisland this weekend.”

Meanwhile, champions Leith face another tough test when they welcome city rivals Tynecastle to Meadowbank 3G. Tynie were 2-1 winners in a League Cup match in August. Lothian play Ormiston at Saughton Enclosure.