John Brown has made no secret of his desire to put one over on near neighbours United on Sunday in his first derby as Dundee manager.
However, he has revealed that he had even more incentive to triumph when he played in his first game for the Dark Blues against their local rivals in 1984 his own stag night was at stake.
Dundee had started that season badly and their boss at the time, Archie Knox, had warned Brown his big do would be off if the team didn’t perform well.
Thankfully for Brown, it was a game to remember as he scored what turned out to be the winner in a 4-3 thriller in front of more than 14,000 fans.
Now he is looking for the present set of players at Dens to produce their own moments of magic that will live long in their memory banks.
Brown said: “I scored a winner in a 4-3 victory over the road, my first Dundee derby.
“It was strange because Archie Knox found out it was my stag night. We had lost the first four games of the season and he said to me, ‘If we don’t get a result today you can forget about your night’. That was my lasting memory it was a great experience winning derbies and to score in them leaves a great feeling. Even to this day, I remember back to those good memories.
“It’s something for the players in the future when they retire they can look back and say they had a decent career and reflect on moments like this that changed things.”
United have won the two meaningful derbies so far this season by a 6-0 aggregate margin. However, Brown insists the form book will go out of the window on Sunday.
He said: “Cup games are one-offs and it’s great for the city. Dundee United, from my time as a player here, had European runs and played Gothenburg in the UEFA Cup final. They had a great team with the likes of Gough, Narey, Malpas, Dodds, Sturrock.
“They have a great history and have probably dominated the city for a number of years, but I’ve said to the boys Sunday is a different game, the chance to get to a semi.
“It’s a short career and you think they’ll come around every year, but it doesn’t happen so you’ve got to grasp it.
“It’s a tough game because United are a good side offensively. They will create and have players who can really hurt us. Their captain Jon Daly is a stalwart who will play anywhere for them.
“I’ve told our lads to get the sleeves rolled up and do what they have to do for the team. That’s all I can ask on Sunday.”
Brown took a lot of heart from the commitment from his players on Wednesday night when they came from behind, despite again being a man down, to draw against St Johnstone in the league at Dens.
He said: “The commitment and hunger from the boys has been second to none. I’ve been at different places with different squads and the hunger and desire the boys showed was great.
“All we had to do on Wednesday was encourage the lads to get into the box and we managed to create a number of chances. We worked on our set-pieces the day before and got a goal from it and we’ll work on one or two things before this game and it might be a set-piece that turns it again.
“I’ve been involved in a semi-final for Dundee at Tynecastle in the mid-80s and we got beat. It was one of the worst days you can experience to miss out on a final. This will be an opportunity, I hope, to get in their faces.”
Dundee will be without Mark Kerr, Carl Finnigan and Jamie McCluskey, while Gary Harkins is cup-tied. Brian Easton will be given a late fitness test on his injured hamstring.
For more in-depth build-up to the big match, see Saturday’s Courier or tryour new digital edition.