Gerry McCabe, the Dumbarton manager, insists the visit of East Fife next weekend is far more important than the trip to Celtic in the Tennent’s Scottish Cup third round next month.

Dumbarton have been handed a lucrative tie at Celtic Park after claiming a 1-0 win at Raith Rovers on Saturday, where John Gemmell scored the only goal of the game. But McCabe is more concerned with closing the gap on the runaway leaders of the third division from New Bayview than the glamour occasion against the Glasgow giants. “It is a draw everyone in our division would have wanted,” McCabe said.

“We are expected to go there and make up the numbers but, hopefully, we will give a good account of ourselves. Financially, it is great for us. There isn’t one Scottish Football League club who wouldn’t want to be paired with Celtic or Rangers.

“Our priority is the league and we have a lot of football to play before we meet Celtic. But the draw will keep our boys on their toes because they will all be wanting to play in that game. However, we have East Fife next weekend which, for me, is a far bigger game because we want to close the gap at the top.”

Rangers will travel to Dunfermline Athletic in one of three all-Bank of Scotland Premierleague ties. Paul Le Guen’s side defeated Dunfermline in the CIS Insurance Cup earlier this season. The highlight of the draw, however, will be Hibernian’s trip to Aberdeen. The Pittodrie side are flying high in the Premierleague table while John Collins had enjoyed a six-game unbeaten run before the defeat at Rangers on Saturday.

Dundee United will play host to St Mirren in the other all-top flight tie in a repeat of the 1987 final. Kilmarnock face a potentially awkward trip to Morotn the second division leaders, while Motherwell have landed a Lanarkshire derby visit to Airdrie United.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Falkirk will not relish their third-round ties at Stirling Albion and Berwick, respectively.

Gerry Britton, the Stranraer manager, is relishing the visit of Heart of Midlothian, the cup holders, after his side defeated Forfar Athletic 3-1 to progress. “It is a great experience for the guys to get the opportunity to play against the quality Hearts have,” he said.

Deveronvale could be forgiven for some disappointment with their third-round pairing against Elgin City. They are the only non-league side left in the competition after their 2-1 win over Fraserburgh and now face a Highland derby on January 6. But Gregg Carrol, the manager, insists the visit of the third division’s bottom club will offer its own incentives. “Drawing Elgin will bring a big crowd to Princess Royal Park,” h e said.

Last season’s runners-up, Gretna, will travel to Clyde in an all-first division game, while CIS Cup semi-finalists St Johnstone entertain Ayr United. Ross County, Dundee and Hamilton Academical play host to Partick Thistle, Queen of the South and Livingston in all-first division ties. Brechin City make the relatively short journey to Cowdenbeath in the other third-round tie.

THIRD-ROUND DRAW

Celtic v Dumbarton
St Johnstone v Ayr United
Ross County v Partick Thistle
Dundee v Queen of the South
Morton v Kilmarnock
Aberdeen v Hibernian
Clyde v Gretna
Stirling Albion v Inverness CT
Airdrie Utd v Motherwell
Dundee Utd v St Mirren
Stranraer v Hearts
Hamilton Academical v Livingston
Dunfermline v Rangers
Berwick v Falkirk
Deveronvale v Elgin City
Cowdenbeath v Brechin City

Ties to be played on January 6 and 7