Forres Mechanics manager Steven MacDonald expects Clachnacuddin to seek North Cup final revenge as goalkeeper Sean McCarthy is out for several weeks

Forres Mechanics will face up to a cup final revenge mission and a tough run of games without one of their star players.

Goalkeeper Sean McCarthy sustained a double fracture of his finger in Mechanics’ North Cup final triumph over Clachnacuddin, and will be out for several weeks.

As luck would have it, the Cans’ first fixture since their trophy glory day is against the same opponents, as they head to Inverness to play Clach in a league match.

It’s the first game in a really difficult November for the Mosset Park men, but manager Steven MacDonald hopes the club’s first silverware success in 14 years can give his young squad some belief.

“Obviously Clach will be looking for some sort of revenge, if that's the right word,” he said. “They will certainly be looking to put one over us after the cup final, so we know it will be a really difficult game for sure.

“We’re quickly back down to ground. After Clach we’ve got Brora in the cup, then Formartine and Brora in the league.

“So it’s back to reality, isn’t it?”

The loss of keeper McCarthy, who has been outstanding since joining the club from Rothes in the summer, is a big setback for Forres.

“Sean got a double fracture of his finger so he'll be out for a while. Sam Nixon got concussion in the final, so he'll probably miss this weekend as well so that'll be a couple of changes enforced.”

McCarthy was replaced in the final moments of the cup final by fellow summer signing Michael Miele, while MacDonald has recalled Canadian teenage keeper Patrick Knox from a spell on loan at Inverness Thistle.

Last weekend saw the second round of the Scottish Cup played and with Mechanics knocked out in round one, they had a free weekend on the back of their North Cup success.

On Friday, Forres took on Inverurie Locos in a bounce game with both clubs featuring mainly young players.

MacDonald wants the feelgood factor of silverware success to continue in his squad throughout their campaign.

“It’s a case of trying to build on it, and you're hoping it gives that sort of belief,” he said. “You know that these games comimng up are going top be tough but we do want to build on what we’ve achieved.

“The good thing is, you know, even if you're struggling sometimes, it's always there - you can say that you can do it.

“Now it's a case of doing it consistently. That's proving to be the difference between the top teams and the rest, and that's been our problem this season.

“The boys showed in a one-off game when it was the semi-final and the final that they're well capable of doing it. It’s just trying to get that the whole time, that belief - that's the difficult thing.

“It's always a good reference point to go back and say that we have managed to do it, and that is within you now.

“You can say that they showed that, not just winning a cup final but dealing with adversity, going 2-0 behind and coming back and that showed fighting spirit, fighting qualities that you're not always sure are there.

“You don't get much time to think about these things because you've got a real difficult month coming behind it, and then all of a sudden people will be quick to then say ‘oh the cup final's a distant memory now’.

“You've got to try and keep your standards up and try to keep improving as much as you can.”

MacDonald hopes his team’s cup success has won a few fans and can lead to more backing over the course of the season.

“It was a big day out for everyone, but you don't expect that people are going to turn out in those numbers all the time.

“It is nice to see that people go back to their roots. There's been so many nice kind messages so that's been really good.

“It's time to just get back into it now, to try and realise how difficult that will be in the next period.”