Buckie Thistle have no Celtic fear but Stephen King-backed underdogs keen to create Misery

John MacLeod hopes Buckie Thistle can give Celtic a fright with the backing of scary Stephen King.

The iconic horror novelist is a fan of the Highlanders and has made reference to the club in his books, keeps in touch with their results and regularly mentions them on social media. King will be following the script at Parkhead on Sunday as Buckie attempts to give Brendan Rodgers a nightmare. MacLeod hopes Thistle could write their own story in Glasgow and smiled: “I have never read a book in my life. The whole week has been a bit mad for everybody involved with the club.”

Thistle aren’t scared as he continued: “We have no fear. It's eleven versus eleven. One bad decision and they could go down to 10 men and anything could happen. The joy of the cup was always about playing against players that you have never played against before. It is a one-off game. You are going to different places and the players do not know anything about you. It is the unexpected isn’t it?

“Everybody expects Celtic to win but our manager will keep us right. We will be disciplined and well organised and we will give it a good go.”

Of course, the opportunity is there for some of the Buckie squad to grab an opportunity and create a new chapter in their careers going forward. MacLeod said: “We have a young squad and it is on the TV and if some of our boys want to move onto a higher level then this is a big profile game.

“They will be playing against full-time players, Scottish Premiership players and Champions League players. “It is a great showcase for us and it is a one-off game. There is no pressure on us and I think we will do well. Darvel did it to Aberdeen and Brora Rangers beat Hearts so it is possible.

That is the drama of the cup and is