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Mitch Megginson hit a landmark on Wednesday when he marked his 30^th birthday, and this weekend brings another reason to celebrate as the captain guides his team into a first ever season in the cinch Championship.

There are plenty at Balmoral Stadium, both on the pitch and behind the scenes, who have been with Cove Rangers every step of the way, and Mitch admits it is going to be a special moment for everyone who has contributed to the club’s remarkable success in recent years.

“It’s going to be a proud moment for me.

“I led the team into League Two, led them into League One, and now I’ll have the chance to lead them into the Championship as well.

“I played at this level six years ago and left to join Cove, and that was always my ambition. Maybe there was bit of naivety, but I believed we could do it.

“Speaking to the Chairman back then, he was certainly ambitious, and given the quality we have here, there was no reason why we shouldn’t make that step up.

“It’s probably come a little bit sooner than I’d have thought it would be, but when you look at the mentality we have here, the ability to grind out wins over the past few seasons, it’s maybe not such a surprise.”

Cove got an indication last Saturday of what might lie ahead in the Championship when a much improved performance saw them notch up a deserved draw in Inverness:

“We matched a strong Caley Thistle team last weekend; we took real positives from that game. We’re still learning how the gaffer wants us to play, he’s still learning about us, so it was nice to come out of that match feeling a bit more upbeat.

“From my point of view, it was great being in a more familiar position against Inverness. I’m happy to play wherever the manager asks me to, but it was nice to be through the middle again. When I play there, I feel I’m going to score goals, as I did on Saturday.

“That’s my bread and butter, and it was great to get up and running for the season.”

One of the big questions is how the squad will handle being in the second tier, a stage that a number of the players have never previously performed on. But the captain has full faith in his team-mates:

“Quite a few of the guys haven’t played at this level before, but I have no doubts they can cope with the demands and prove just how good they are.”

“It is going to be a demanding season, no-one at Balmoral Stadium is under any illusions about that, and everyone is going to have to get accustomed to a different challenge.

“We all know it’s going to be a gruelling campaign, a long hard season. There’ll be ups and downs, we’re not going to get it all our own way like we have in the last few years. We’re going to have to fight hard for everything we get.

“But we’re a close-knit group, we know what’s needed, and we’ll get our heads down and work for it.

“We won’t be winning as many games as we’ve been used to, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be trying to. Whatever happens, it’s going to be another memorable season.”

Mitch expects the encounter with Raith to be a very singular test:

“There’s always something special about the first game of the season. It’s crazy, always the same, there’s no tempo to it, it’s all guns blazing, and you’re trying to catch your breath from the first minute to the last.

“I don’t know why, but it’s the same every time. It’s probably just the excitement of the occasion.”

The afternoon will start with a moment of reflection, and a chance to celebrate last season’s efforts, but then the really important business will begin:

“The anticipation has been mounting as we’ve counted the days down. It’ll be nice to see the flag unfurled, but then we have to concentrate on the game and the marathon that lies ahead.”

The full interview with Mitch can be viewed at the Cove Rangers YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/CoveRangersTV

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