Clydebank Football Club’s chair believes the future is looking bright for the club following a cruel end to their Scottish Cup journey on Saturday.

Grace McGibbon watched as the Bankies lost two late goals in extra-time to suffer a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat at the hands of League Two Annan Athletic.

Speaking exclusively to the Post, she assured supporters she is already planning for the future now the fairytale run is over.

She said: “It is just the start of the journey. I say that all the time but it’s true. This is the start.

“We’re 20 years into this. There are clubs out there who have been doing this for 120 years and haven’t achieved what we have achieved this season.

“So jump on the train because it’s going somewhere.”

Around 1,200 fans packed into a sold-out Holm Park on Saturday and Ms McGibbon said she was grateful to everyone who had followed the team on their journey.

She said: “Everybody has just bought into the whole Scottish Cup. The whole pyramid. The whole us being part of the licensing at the SFA.

“I just want to thank everybody for being so patient, so understanding. For being as brave as you can be to take a trip to Elgin at four days’ notice. Everybody has just been phenomenal.”

Saturday’s victors will now host Rangers at home in the next round of the competition, and Ms McGibbon had to admit she had a sense of jealousy when she watched the draw on Saturday evening.

She added: “I was across in The Lovat with the board, the players and the managers and we watched the draw live, and I think it was a bit gutting when you see that draw coming - and it’s the ‘what if’?”

The Bankies return to league business on Saturday with a trip to play Largs in the West of Scotland Premier Division and Ms McGibbon knows it’s time to shift the focus away from the Scottish Cup.

“We’re still in two cup competitions and we’ve still got the league,” she added.

“Finishing as high as possible in the league is now our priority, and hopefully getting a bit further in one of the two cups we’re still in.”

Despite the defeat, manager Gordon Moffat was full of praise for his players efforts.

He said: “I couldn’t ask for any more from them. I’m more disappointed for them than I am myself and the staff. I know what it’s like myself when you put so much into a game and you get sucker punched at the end.

“I said at the end to make sure they walk off with their chests out. Don’t be walking off with your shoulders slumped.

“There was guys lying on the ground at the end there. They deserved the round of applause at the end. It wasn’t just for today but for the cup run as a whole.”