SEVERAL Berwick players will be in for something of a culture shock when they roll up at Marine Drive for Saturday's Scottish Cup showdown with Civil Service Strollers.
However, for Damon Gray, who has been plying his trade with the SFL Third Division outfit since being released by Hibs in the summer, there will be few surprises in store as he returns to a place he considers synonymous with the best days of his foot
ball career so far.
It was on the grassy knolls of Strollers' home park on the edge of Muirhouse where Gray, as a starry-eyed teenager hoping to make his way in the game with Hibs, received the bulk of his football education. In the years before moving to their impressive training facility at East Mains almost two years ago, Hibs players would routinely cram into cars at Easter Road to journey along Edinburgh's north side to train on the lush fields of Marine Drive.
Gray, now 21, remembers the days fondly when he got to hone his skills alongside the illustrious likes of Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson and Steven Fletcher under the watchful eye of former managers Tony Mowbray and John Collins, the man who gave him his Hibs debut as an 18-year-old.
And that's why the Newcastle-born striker, who still lives in Edinburgh, felt a pang of excitement upon learning that his current side would face Strollers in the second round of the country's most prestigious competition.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to going back there," he said. "It'll bring back a few nice memories for me because that's where we used to train when I was breaking into the Hibs first team. I got to train with the first team down there quite a few times alongside guys like Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson and Steven Whittaker so it's a place that'll always mean a lot to me."
While Gray's memories of Marine Drive are good ones at present, he knows that could all change on Saturday if his Berwick team-mates struggle to adapt to their less-than-salubrious surroundings. While acknowledging that the pitches are always excellently maintained by the proud ground staff, he knows there are plenty pitfalls awaiting a side who won't be used to having hundreds of fans only separated from the pitch by a rope.
"In some ways it will be like playing in a public park because the fans will all be crowded round the pitch. There are no stands or anything like that, so it's completely different to the little grounds we play in the Third Division. Because it's a wide open field with no big stands or buildings round about the wind can really get up. I remember when we trained there it always seemed to be windy, even when it was calm everywhere else. All that could work in their favour because they'll be used to it but we can have no excuses because from what I remember the pitches were always perfect for playing football."
Gray and his Berwick mates had better beware, because it seems Strollers are in extremely confident mood ahead of what will be the biggest game in the careers of most of their players. The newly-promoted East of Scotland Premier League side are taking great heart from the fact they beat a strong Berwick team in a pre-season friendly, while several of the Strollers players will gather extra motivation, as if it was needed, from the fact they used to play for Berwick's youth side under current Civil Service co-manager Andy Raeburn.
One such player is captain Itfi Barbirou, Edinburgh born and bred but with a Tunisian father. The centre-back is buzzing with excitement ahead of a match which will see his entire family turn out to bolster a crowd which would usually only number about 30 for an average league match.
"We've not played an SFL team for ten years (when Albion Rovers won at Marine Drive], so it's a massive game for us," he said. "It'll take a bit of luck for us to beat them, but if we play how we can, then I genuinely think we can beat them. The pitch is open and it can get windy, so that's something that could give us a bit of an edge because we'll be used to it.
"We know a few of their players because a lot of us used to be part of the Berwick youth set-up when we were younger, so that all adds to the game.
"It would mean everything if we could beat them, but the main thing is that we give a good account of ourselves. There's no pressure on us at all, so hopefully we can do well and enjoy the occasion."
