Paul Kee's H&W Welders daring to dream of Irish Cup upset against high-flying Larne

The East Belfast outfit booked their spot in the quarter-finals by beating Newry City and Glenavon, but hosting Tiernan Lynch’s men at Blanchflower Park will be a totally different beast.

Larne, who have a six-point lead at the Premiership’s summit, are enjoying a record-breaking top-flight campaign having picked up more wins (21), points (68), clean sheets (19) and away victories (11) than ever before.

With 15 league positions separating the two teams, Kee is well aware of just how difficult the task at hand is but says they’ll give it their all in what is “the biggest match in the club’s history”.

"You have to dream,” he said. “The club has been on a good run in the past while and it's put everyone in a positive mood.

"We're unbeaten in seven, had six wins in that time, five clean sheets - things are going really well.

"We put seven past Knockbreda and they are a good defensive, hard-working team so to do that is no mean feat. Dungannon beat them by the skin of their teeth.

"We know it's going to be a tough game but at the same time we're going into it with optimism and the players have to be enthused. There's no reason why we can't give a good account of ourselves."

The Welders coaching staff have been doing their research on “very impressive” Larne, watching their games live while also dissecting video footage.

Kee believes that only counts for so much though with his players needing to perform on the pitch and for one day only (for now), against full-time opposition, they will have their own professional experience.

"With it being a Friday night, we didn't want most of our players doing a day's work so we encouraged them all to take a day off,” he added. “We're meeting at 11am, going through some routines, have food, have a rest, do some more preparation after that and then have pre-match.

"We're trying to make it as professional as we can for the players to give them the best possible chance in what will be a tough night.

"From a football perspective, it allows us to see the benchmark for what it takes to be a Premiership club.

"We will have to be at our very, very best, they have to have an off day and we have to hope the gods are with us!”

In a game where they might only get a couple of chances, it’s important to have a clinical sharpshooter that can punish any Larne lapse, and in Matthew Ferguson, they certainly do.

The 27-year-old sits top of the Championship goalscoring chart with 17 after returning from injury.

"Ferguson is a bit of a freak,” said Kee. “He's only been playing since October and come back to score 17 goals in 15 games. He's a great example to younger players because he's had two major injuries.

"The fact he's playing the way he is a credit to him and the medical team at the club. He definitely makes a big difference, and (Michael) McLellan as well.”