Supporters of Glasgow’s big two Junior clubs will be inexorably drawn to Ayrshire climes on Saturday with Pollok and Petershill playing less than ten miles apart.

And both venues promise to be at their intimidating best, Pollok heading to Bellsdale Park and a meeting with reigning champions Beith who have designs on retaining their title crown while the Peasy are at Abbey Park where Kilwinning Rangers have set their sights on picking up three points to allay fears of being dragged into the basement dogfight.

A major boost for Lok followers is the news of the Newlandsfield treatment room becoming less congested this week after a quartet of players – Adam Forde, Grant Evans, Danny Boyle and Gary McCann – trained alongside team-mates in seeking to prove their readiness for the Mighty clash.

Team boss Murdie MacKinnon said: "Grant’s hamstring strain has cleared up quicker than we anticipated, while big Danny’s ankle that he turned in the first cup game against Glenafton has caused us to be choosy in what we ask him to do in our sessions.

“Both guys are now fully fit and the same can finally be said about Fordy who has been champing at the bit to get back in our selection thoughts after almost two months out of action.

“Getting someone with his eye for a goal back in harness is a major plus as is Gary having the plaster cast on his broken wrist removed at the start of this week, however he has been training constantly, albeit avoiding contact with the other guys, for a number of weeks and is almost up to scratch in terms of overall fitness.

“Sharpness will come with playing games, however he’s such a massive player for us that I don’t want to rush him back so my head thinks Saturday’s game is coming too soon for him, but that could change.

"Beith are an exceptionally strong side, particularly at home, and I have the highest regard for the players in their ranks whom I’ve worked with before like Kevin Green [at Blantyre Vics] and Ross “Archie” McPherson [Irvine Meadow] so we cannot afford to have any passengers going into the game.”

Scotland Juniors internationalist full-back Nikky Docherty is a definite Beith non-starter because of a two-match suspension for a recent red card against Irvine Meadow, while midfield battler Jamie Wilson is considered doubtful along with ex-Queens Park central defender Green.

Beith gaffer Johnny Millar said: "Knee and calf muscle problems have plagued Kevin since early in the season and his taking part [45 minutes only] in a midweek friendly match was his first playing action since August.

“He’s not match fit by any stretch but we are down to the bare bones and may have to take a chance with him and the same applies to Archie who is only back following a couple of months on the sidelines.”

Beith sit fully 16 points behind league leaders Hurlford United, albeit with four games fewer played, and Millar believes the title race is wide open.

He said: “Coming good from where we were sitting at the turn of the year last season shows it’s never over until it’s over and we will not be slacking off in the chase.

“Taking on a rejuvenated Pollok will be a tester, but everyone here is looking forward to the game, not least because our home form is decent, having lost just once in the league against Hurlford, so we will look to keep our run going."

Sitting just three points behind Beith in the standings are Kilwinning Rangers whose manager Chris Strain is concerned about his side’s inconsistent form.

“It seems like only a short time ago that we were a top-six club and Irvine Meadow were occupying a relegation spot, yet they are now only a point behind us and that’s what can happen in this very competitive division, so we are not out of the woods by a long chalk," admitted Strain.

“We beat Petershill 1-0 through in Springburn on the opening day of the league season in a very hard fought affair and you could never have imagined they would be sitting third bottom at this stage of the season.

“We could easily land ourselves in a difficult situation with our rollercoaster form, so the focus has to be on putting space between ourselves and the bottom half of the table .

“Look, we are not going to win the title, but getting as high up the table as possible has to be our aim every time we play a league game.

“Craig Pettigrew and Carlo Monti have both recovered from knocks and I’m now in the pleasant position of having a full 17-man squad available for the first time this season.”

Strain offloaded summer signing Marc McKenzie to league leaders Hurlford in a surprise transfer last week, but he does not believe his forward line options have been weakened as a result.

"We received and accepted a bid for Marc and were aware of approaches being made to him by other clubs, but he opted to join Hurlford when they appeared late on the scene," added Strain.

“He goes with our best wishes and it leaves us with two recognised front men in Bryan Boylan and Ryan Nesbit, however midfield pair Carlo Monti and Garry Fleming are both capable of playing further for the team if needs must.”