Hibs v Brora Rangers: From Orkney to Easter Road and back to work the next morning

Orcadian defender John Pickles has been playing with Brora Rangers since 2015

Part-time players are used to days off work and long trips to pursue their football dreams, but how about a ferry journey and a two-and-a-half hour drive before the team bus sets off for another three-hour haul?

That's what Brora Rangers defender John Pickles has to look forward to when the Highland League champions travel to Hibernian for Wednesday's League Cup tie.

And then there's an overnight excursion from his home in Finstown, Orkney, to Dingwall on Saturday for a Covid-19 test before he's even allowed to play at Easter Road.

The 26-year-old can't wait. "Games like this are such fantastic opportunities," Pickles tells BBC Scotland.

"You want to test yourself against the best opposition possible, you want to go to the big stadiums. It is a good trip for boys like us who don't get to play in places like that every week, so it is very exciting.

"I don't fancy our chances too much, to be honest, but we can be quite resilient. We are quite good defensively, so the longer we can keep them out you never know what can happen."

Pickles, an electrician, trains with North Caledonian League side Orkney FC in Kirkwall twice a week, only meeting up with his Brora Rangers team-mates on match days.

And he's been doing it for five years.

"I'm used to it now, so it is not so bad," he says. "Getting up early on a Saturday morning for football is a lot easier than getting up for work through the week."

The one hour, forty minutes ferry sailing is subsidised by the operator, who sponsor the full-back, while the club contribute to travel expenses.

"If they didn't do that, obviously it wouldn't be possible, so it is a big commitment from them and I am very grateful," he explains.

Pickles faces a lengthy journey...

All lower league sides must undergo checks for coronavirus if taking on Scottish Premiership opposition and Ross County have agreed to help out with the use of their facilities.

"It would be easy for the club to just say 'look John, with what is going on we will maybe leave it' but they have never said anything like that. They include me with all the testing arrangements.

"It is a bit unfortunate because the boat times have changed this weekend, so I am going to have to travel down on Friday night, stay in Brora, get my test on Saturday morning, then we will train in the afternoon before I come back home on Saturday night."

And that's just the warm-up act for another early rise on Wednesday.

Pickles will need to be in Inverness for a 13:30 BST departure, with the bus scheduled to return at 01:30 the next morning.

He will catch a few hours sleep in a guesthouse in either Inverness or Brora, then it's up the road to Scrabster to catch the ferry home in time for work before 11:00.

"My employer likes football so he does give me time off when I need it, so I either work back my hours or I use my holidays.

"I won't do this forever so while I can do it, it is nice that I get time off."

Pickles may need a good alarm to get him up on Thursday since he is expecting a thorough work-out against Hibs, who are sitting third in the top flight after 10 matches.

Brora have managed a couple of pre-season friendlies but the new Highland League campaign has been delayed until the end of November.

"We do have a lot of good players, but it is the fitness and everything that comes into it with full-time football, they have always got that extra yard so it will be a massive challenge."