Aaron Comrie is used to facing his St Johnstone pals on the PlayStation – now he is determined to get the better of them on the pitch and lead Dunfermline to the Betfred Cup semi-finals.
The right-back spent four years in Perth, making a total of 16 appearances, before moving to the Pars in summer 2019.
Comrie regards some of his ex-team-mates as friends for life and is regularly in touch with them through the games console and text.
And the 23-year-old cannot wait to lock horns when his one-time employers visit East End Park in this evening’s last-eight clash.
‘Friends for life’
He said: “It will be the first time I’ve come up against them and I’m looking forward to it.
“I’ve got good memories of my time up there, a good group of boys.
“I enjoyed it, it didn’t quite work out the way I hoped but only good memories.
“I keep in regular contact with some of the guys up there, whether it’s through the PlayStation, text or whatever.
“I’ve got good friends there, friends for life.
“It’s a good group of boys and it will be nice to see them all but we’re coming to win the game, and likewise so will they.”
Dunfermline were beaten for the first time this season in Saturday’s 2-1 Championship defeat to Morton, while Saints also lost for the first time in 12 games to Livingston at the weekend.
But Comrie reckons there will be no shortage of confidence in both camps as they bid to reach Hampden.
He added: “Hopefully it will be a good advert. Apart from Saturday’s result we’ve been doing well in the league and it will be a good test for us to see where we’re at as a club.
“It’s a good one for us and a good chance for the boys and the club to progress in the cup.
“St Johnstone have been flying so we are fully aware how tough it will be.”
Pars boss Stevie Crawford is also looking forward to going up against Callum Davidson in the dugout after the Saints manager served as his first team coach at the tail end of the 2018/19 campaign.
Crawford said: “I did my pro licence with him and I always thought that Callum was destined to be a manager.
“It will be good to go head-to-head but we will both be looking for a response having faced defeat at the weekend.
“He obviously came in and helped us out here when he was in between jobs.
“He was great to bounce things off in the early parts of my management career here.
“I have had a few conversations with Callum since he came into his current role in the summer there.
“He is a very humble guy, he is a hard worker just like he was as a player and when I watched his team performing at Celtic Park last week, they were very well organised.
“It is going to be a big challenge for us to face on Tuesday but one we are hopeful we can win.”