The Scottish Cup quarter-final clash with Inverness Caley Thistle at Tannadice tomorrow will bring mixed memories for Dundee United fans.
Almost exactly five years ago the pair met at the same stage, this time in the Highland capital.
And the tie saw an exciting young Tangerines side under Jackie McNamara sweep aside ICT with ease, running out 5-0 winners on a run that would take them to the final.
That, of course, is where the darker recollections begin for Arabs. The final ended in a 2-0 defeat to St Johnstone few outside of Perth expected and no one of a tangerine persuasion did.
Worse was to follow, and, as McNamara’s team quickly broke up, just two years later United were relegated.
Another three years on and getting back to the Premiership remains the pressing need but another emphatic win over the Highlanders to set up a Hampden trip would be welcome.
Something else the line-ups will demonstrate is the mobility of modern professionals. Every member of the United starting team has since moved on.
Morgaro Gomis did come on as sub and has since left twice only to recently return for a third spell at Tannadice.
And another January returnee, Calum Butcher, was also on the bench, but didn’t get on.
And such was the turnaround in players at Tannadice over the next few seasons that, of the starting XI, only long-serving defender Sean Dillon stayed on for as long as another three years.
The first to go were Andy Robertson and Gavin Gunning, both of whom would end their time at United in the summer of 2014.
Robertson headed for Hull City in a move worth just short of £3 million and that, in turn, led to him joining Liverpool and going on to establish himself as, not just a regular for Scotland, but the captain of the national team.
Irishman Gunning elected to go under freedom of contract and has since had a nomadic career that’s seen spells at places like Birmingham, Morton, Forest Green Rovers and even back in tangerine.
The following January saw the controversial transfer to Celtic of Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay Steven in a £2 million-plus deal that many Arabs regard as the start of the rot that led to relegation.
Whether or not that was the case, the strength of the team was diminished further that summer when striker Nadir Ciftci, scorer of a double against Inverness, also headed for Celtic.
Goalkeeper Rado Cierzniak was also on the move, electing to return home to Poland at the end of his deal, first to Wisla Krakow and for the past couple of years at Legia Warsaw.
Defender Keith Watson was not offered a new deal at the end of the 2015 campaign and, after spells at St Mirren, St Johnstone and Hartlepool, he’s now a fixture at the heart of the Ross County defence.
Another year on and, after the drop was confirmed, Paul Paton, John Rankin and Ryan Dow all left.
Paton is now plying his trade at Falkirk and was red-carded against United earlier this term, while Rankin’s at Clyde and coaches at youth level at Hearts.
Injury sidelined Dow for a while and, after a spell with Ross County, he’s now at Peterhead.
Their exits left Dillon as the only survivor of Inverness that day and the end of his testimonial year in 2017 saw him move to Montrose.
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