THEY may be taking on Welsh football's top dogs but Cwmbran Celtic have vowed to stick to their guns against The New Saints.

The champions and runaway leaders of the Cymru Premier and JD Welsh Cup holders head for Gwent tomorrow afternoon for quarter-final clash.

Celtic narrowly avoided the drop from Cymru South last season but have improved this season to sit 10th in the 16-team division ahead of this weekend’s action, with games in hand on their rivals.

They have earned a shot at TNS, who have a 16-point lead at the head of the top flight, with a first-round win against Ammanford 1-0, a penalty shootout success against Llantwit Major, a 4-3 success against Carmarthen Town and then a 3-2 victory at Penydarren BGC.

Manager James Kinsella insists Cwmbran won’t be doing anything different at Avondale Motor Park Arena against a side who are setting the standards in Wales.

“In terms of our game plan we won't change anything,” he said to the FAW. “We will do what we do normally.

“We play against teams that have a lot of attacking quality in the Cymru South, even though they're not professional.

“We come up against players like Lee Trundle at Ammanford and Luke Bowen and Tom Walters at Briton Ferry, so we're used to playing against strong attacking players.

“It's obviously going to be difficult, but being at home we will do what we can to give a good account of ourselves more than anything, and try to stay in the game for as long as possible.

“It's no secret that our pitch isn't the best, and I do think that will play a massive factor, especially with them being used to playing on artificial surfaces and us being used to our pitch and the smaller size of it.

“We've had a look at a few highlights of their games, but to be honest we're not really worrying too much about the opposition. We're more concerned with what we can do as a collective.”

Celtic suffered a January blow when striker Alex Bonthron’s exploits – 17 goals in 18 games - led to a chance at a higher level with Merthyr.

However, the squad still took the spoils at Penydarren to repeat the 2017 effort of making the quarter-finals.

“I'm over the moon with the progress we have made this season,” said Kinsella.

“We had to dig our heels in last year to stay in the division and we deserved to stay up, but this year the boys have gone the extra mile.

JOY: Cwmbran Celtic celebrate a goal (Picture: STEVE ROBERTS) (Image: Steve Roberts)

“The experience we've brought in has helped us massively. As a collective we wanted to be better than last season and the boys really have given everything.”

“This is probably the best place the club has ever been in,” he continued. “All the players from the first team, the seconds, the thirds and the ladies as a senior collective are a really tight-knit group at the moment and it's really good to see.

“In terms of the Welsh Cup, I know how big it is to the club. I was a supporter when we got to the quarter-finals last time, so to now equal that is quite surreal.”