Arbroath boss Dick Campbell insists St Johnstone’s historic cup double is the fairytale story that no-one can ever believe to be true.
Campbell’s side will face St Johnstone on Sunday as the Perth side begin their defence of the Premier Sports League Cup at Gayfield.
St Johnstone held Turkish giants Galatasaray to a Europa League draw in Istanbul last week.
And Campbell is in no doubts about the task ahead of Arbroath – praising Davidson for securing the League and Scottish Cup double.
“I don’t know Callum at all personally,” said Campbell. “But what he achieved last season is absolutely phenomenal.
“You can’t put into words what he did with St Johnstone. There is no storybook you could write about it that anyone would believe.
“If someone told me at the start of the year that St Johnstone were going to win both cups that year I’d say: ‘You’ve lost your loopy.’
“But that’s exactly what they did and let’s make it absolutely clear – it was no fluke.
“St Johnstone didn’t steal the cups. They 100% deserved their success through hard work and a very well assembled team by Callum.
Campbell hopes Arbroath can live up to high expectations against St Johnstone
“It makes me laugh when some people don’t just hope we can beat St Johnstone but expect us to do it.
“They’ve just held Galatasaray to a 1-1 draw in Istanbul and we are expected to beat them? Get lost!
“That doesn’t mean we won’t be trying to beat them on Sunday or that I don’t believe we are capable.
“We played St Johnstone in a pre-season friendly in the summer and did well.
“Even Callum would admit it was never a 4-1 game. It was a lot closer than that and our player Harrison Clark scored a cracker.
“It’s a cup tie and I love cup ties. There’s no point sitting back and admiring St Johnstone, we have to give it our best shot.”
Arbroath will be without captain Tam O’Brien and former Raith Rovers star Jason Thomson for the visit of Saints.
O’Brien pulled up with a hamstring injury in the 2-2 draw with Ayr United last weekend. Thomson is still recovering from a knee operation.
