KELTY HEARTS will aim to "clear" their League Cup drubbing from their minds and be prepared for their League One opener at Montrose on Saturday.

Michael Tidser's team, for a second successive season, begin their third tier fixtures at Links Park against Stewart Petrie's outfit, but do so on the back of a six-goal thumping at Queen's Park.

That was their final game in Group C of the Premier Sports Cup, sealing their elimination from the competition, and their second defeat in a row, having been beaten at home by Peterhead.

Kelty will kick off their third season as a League One club and player / boss Tidser, who is in his second season at the helm, said: "There's no point dwelling on it.

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"We'll analyse it over the weekend, I'll have chats with the lads, but we go to Montrose next week, hopefully clear our heads, and go and try and win the game ultimately.

"They're a good side. They've always been a decent side and they're always in the play-offs, or there or thereabouts. Stewart Petrie's always done well, but it's about us.

"It's about my squad, it's about my staff, and my players. It's up to us to dust ourselves down, be prepared, make sure they're working, and go up to Montrose next Saturday."

The 'Maroon Machine' were 2-0 winners when they played the Gable Endies on day one of last term, but lost out to them in the chase for a promotion play-off place on the penultimate game of the campaign.

In addition to the Peterhead and Queen's Park losses, Kelty enjoyed a memorable home win over Hibernian, and drew at League Two Elgin City, in the Premier Sports Cup, whilst pre-season saw a win over Hamilton Academical sandwiched between losses to Livingston and Heart of Midlothian 'B'.

"The league's our bread and butter. It's always been our bread and butter," Tidser, who didn't feature in the cup games due to a calf strain, explained to Times Sport after the Peterhead defeat.

"Will we ever win the cup? No, because we'll face teams that are better than us. That's just football - I'm a realist. When it comes to Montrose away, first game of the season, they'll need to have learned over pre-season, especially the newer lads, how I work, how we want to work in terms of with the ball, without the ball, being brave, taking control of the game, managing the game, understanding it.

"Dare I say it, I actually think they miss me in there at times, just having that bit of experience, and a voice, to guide them at times and manage the game.

"Not that I know everything about football, but I've played 500 games of football. I can sniff out how that game's going from the sides, and I know I'd sniff it out even if I was on the park.

"Hopefully I can get myself fit over the next couple of weeks and get out there and help the lads, which I think would be a bonus to them."