Exclusive: Linlithgow Rose boss Gordon Herd reveals that beating former club Camelon was extra sweet

Herd – sacked by Camelon in March – and a handful of ex-Mariners put their old team to the sword thanks to early goals by Jack Ogilvie and Alan Sneddon, before Mitchell Taylor pulled one back 10 minutes into the second half.

“I suppose you could say the victory was extra sweet for me because we had a lot of the ex-Camelon boys in our team,” Herd told the Journal and Gazette. "But we treated it just like another game. We tried not to get bogged down in the history between the players and the management team at Camelon.

"I felt we got off to a really good start in the first 10 or 15 minutes. We got our two goals and I think we should have been out of sight at half-time.

"We should really have been five goals up. The longer it sits at 2-0 in the second half then there’s a wee bit of nervousness and they managed to get that goal that gave them a wee bit of life.

"We kind of hung on a bit at the end without them causing us too many problems.

"But when the final whistle went it was a wee bit sweeter.”

Rose are also in cup action this Saturday, as they visit Dalkeith Thistle in an East of Scotland Qualifying Cup 2nd Round tie which kicks off at 2.30pm.

Meanwhile, Herd has insisted that new striker Somina Dublin-Green, who made his debut as a substitute against Camelon, is not a direct replacement for club legend Tommy Coyne – the highest scorer in Rose’s history – who has left to join Pollok.

"Dublin is one for the future,” Herd said. “He is not going to be a direct Tommy Coyne replacement.

"Dublin is one that we see a wee bit of potential in, that we think we can develop.

"We were disappointed to lose Tommy but, where we’re at with the squad, Tommy was wanting games that I couldn’t really promise him.

"He had a good chance of a move back west which kind of suited him. He stays five minutes from Pollok.

"Tommy’s achievements at Linlithgow will probably go unmatched with his goals and the person that he was.

"I played with Tommy when he first arrived at Linlithgow and he matured into a top class striker.”