Dundee United forward Henri Anier hopes to become an instant hero among the Tannadice faithful by firing his new club into the final of the Scottish League Cup, sponsored by QTS.
The Estonian international knows full well what it is like to break Aberdeen hearts, having been in the Motherwell team that snatched second spot from Derek McInnes’ men on the final day of last season.
Fast forward eight months and Anier admits he would love to deny the Dons success once more on Saturday as he aims to endear himself to the United support.
“It wasn’t the best performance but we got a result,” he said of Motherwell’s dramatic final day achievement last term.
“To be honest, there was a lot of emotion after the game I’ve never had these emotions before in all my life.
“It was great to finish second like that, with a last minute goal.
“It was a great achievement for the club and hopefully we can do the same here now with Dundee United.
“We went into that Aberdeen game with one thought, that we could get out of the game and finish second, and now I’m at Dundee United we’re going into this game and we want to get to the final.
“We want to win this cup and that’s what the mentality should be.
“Everybody in the team is thinking that way and that’s how we’ll approach the game.”
Anier, who made his first United appearance as a substitute against St Mirren last midweek, played just under an hour of his home debut against his former club Motherwell on Saturday as he continues to build up his match fitness.
Whether the striker is handed a starting slot by boss Jackie McNamara at Hampden therefore remains to be seen, but Anier reckons the whole squad will be ready and raring to go for such a big game.
“Everybody wants to play in the game and whoever goes out there gives 100% anyway,” he continued.
“We’re all one team.
“For me, I’m just happy to have signed now and I just want to work hard and get my fitness back.
“You could say it’s like a bonus having a cup semi-final so soon, but I think it’s a great thing and everybody will be ready for that.
“We’re in both cups and Saturday is a very big game, so I’m looking forward to it.
“I think I’m getting better day by day I felt good in training, it was good to get 30 minutes in my first game against St Mirren and it didn’t feel too bad.
“Starting against Motherwell wasn’t easy because it had been a few months since my last proper game, and I had a break of about three weeks around Christmas time, so I wasn’t happy in myself.
“But I’ll be back to full fitness soon I hope.
“I’ve only had three or four training sessions so far but you can see they are a very positive group of lads.
“I think it’s very fluent, open-minded and we can move around up front so I think this will suit me.
“I think all the guys in the team enjoy that, starting with the goalkeeper, so hopefully we will get to know each other more and more in training.
“When I was at Motherwell I knew Dundee United’s style of play and I spoke with Jackie before I signed about exactly what I was looking for.
“I enjoy this style of play and I think we can do well like this.”
Anier tasted cup success back home in Estonia with Flora Tallinn a few years back so he will be looking to be United’s lucky charm, although his cup record in his last stint in Scotland was nothing to write home about.
“It’s still early in my career!” he joked.
“But it was nice to win the cup with Flora Tallinn and we won the league as well in the same year.
“I got my move to Sampdoria after that and we won the cup in the national stadium, where we played anyway as a club.
“Motherwell won one cup game when I was there against Livingston – and I didn’t even play in that one!
“So I wasn’t successful in the cups with Motherwell, it’s fair to say.
“I’m just hoping that changes now I’m at Dundee United.”