Memories of Hampden glory are still fresh in the minds of the St Johnstone players.
Now the Perth men are determined to make sure their supporters get to share the full national stadium experience with them by knocking Dundee out of the Premier Sports Cup and securing a return.
After clinching their first league win of the season at Pittodrie on Saturday, a last-four place in the League Cup will be on the line at Dens Park on Wednesday night for the holders.
And there will be a ‘let’s do this for our fans’ mantra driving them on against their local rivals, according to Saints defender James Brown.
“We’ll fancy ourselves,” said the former Millwall man. “We’ve proven in cup competitions what we can do. We’re the ones to beat so we’ll go there with confidence.
“Hopefully we can have another trip to Hampden and take the fans with us this time. They missed out last season, which was a real shame, but hopefully we can get there again.
“That will be a source of motivation for us.
“Semi-finals are finals huge games but without fans it’s not the same. Hopefully we can give them something to cheer about and a day out.”
Stevie May certainly gave them something to cheer about at the weekend with his late winner against one of his former clubs.
Sweet day for Stevie May
“We all know the quality that Stevie has,” said Brown. “We see it in training day in, day out. He always puts in a shift for us.
“We’re just delighted for him, especially for him coming back to Aberdeen. That would have tasted nice.
“We’ve got good attacking options all over the pitch.”
Nice way to hit the 50. 🤫 pic.twitter.com/Q6z9tKatb6
— Stevie may (@Stevie__may) September 18, 2021
This is Brown’s first full season as a Saints player but the likes of May will have passed on to him the club’s habit of taking a few weeks to find their Premiership momentum.
“I’ve heard that it has been a bit of the norm around here!” said the Englishman.
“There was no panic. We know that we’ve got quality. We’ll be fine, the results will come if we perform like that every week.
“It’s a massive win.
“With losing a couple of players, people might have been doubting us. But the boys have dealt with that well and we’ve shown last week against Rangers and this week that we’re still a good squad and we’ll still give anyone a game.
“We’ve got a lot of competition in the squad which will hopefully push us towards the top six.”
At home at centre-back
“I appreciate wherever I play,” he said. “I enjoy playing at centre-back.
“Everybody knows what Shaun Rooney’s qualities are and how well he did last year.
“I’ll let Shaun get up the pitch and do what he’s good at. At the moment, it’s working well, so long may it continue.”
This time he had Efe Ambrose inside him and it was an accomplished debut for the former Celtic and Hibs defender.
“He had a cigar in all game,” joked Brown. “He’s a good lad. He’s been class in training since he came in.
“He hadn’t played for a long time but came into a game like this and looked comfortable. That’s the quality he has.
“He brings a calmness to what is a pretty young defence. It’s good to have that experience in there.”
