ALAN LAWRENCE knows more than most about what it takes to get to a Scottish Cup Final and he's desperate for another big day with Bathgate.

During the 1990s the former Hearts and Airdrie striker reached more finals than any other player outwith the Old Firm.

Now a coach with the East Super League side, he's determined to savour the junior game's showpiece by securing a semi-final win tonight over Irvine Meadow.

Lawrence, whose fellow Bathgate coach Paul Jack is also a losing Scottish Cup finalist, said: "My cup final record is not a bad claim to fame but that's in the past and I want more memories to look back on.

"While I was with Hearts we played Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final but lost 5-1, with Gordon Durie scoring a hat-trick, so that's not something I recall with much fondness.

"It's all about Bathgate now and it's great to be involved in a game such as the one we face on Friday night.

"Many people regard us as favourites but I don't see it that way as we're playing a strong side who are unbeaten this season. One of the main factors in our success has been our manager William Hill who's put his money where his mouth is and invested heavily in the playing staff.

"We operate a rotation system so that if someone's not playing well there's always someone ready to fill in as the competition for a game is fierce.

"We've brought in guys like Eddie Annand and Barry Elliot as well as defenders Alan Neil and Sean Sweeney so that's helped give us experience.

"Because of the money we've spent there are people wanting to knock us down but we just use that as motivation to do well."

Lawrence decided to hang up his boots last season and is planning to progress from coaching to management but insists that step can wait.

He said: "I'm learning all the time here and it's great to develop my coaching skills with a bunch of players who are prepared to listen.

"There will come a time when I want to be my own man but I'm content to bide my time.

"Being with a side as ambitious as Bathgate is a great responsibility and it helps with the resources we have here.

"It would mean so much to the manager if we were to win the Scottish Cup and we're determined to do that. Hopefully we can turn our attention towards that after Friday night."

Taken from the Daily Record