Kyle Cameron and his new-look St Johnstone team will be motivated rather than inhibited by the Perth club’s cup glories of the last decade.
This year is the 10th anniversary of Saints’ first Scottish Cup triumph under Tommy Wright, with Callum Davidson’s double still fresh in the memories of supporters.
Unless Stevie May is restored to the match-day squad at Hampden Park for the Premier Sports Cup last-16 clash with Rangers, there won’t be a single survivor from the 2021 triumphs on the pitch at the national stadium.
And Cameron wants the 2024 side to write a fresh chapter of cup success.
“It’s an inspiration rather than a burden,” said the McDiarmid Park captain. “Previous teams have shown what’s possible at this club.
“We want to emulate them.
“It’s a burden when the club you’re playing for hasn’t won anything or got to semi-finals and finals.
“That builds pressure.
“Our motivation is trying to recreate what has happened here and do something special for this team.
“The double was only three years ago but the squad is completely different.
“That’s how football is these days – things don’t stay the same for too long.
“This is a fresh team and a fresh chance to take our opportunity.
“The club had struggled to get out of the group in the last couple of years.
“Our first aim of the season was to get into the last 16, which we’ve done.
“We nearly made a mess of it but we’ve set-up a big tie against Rangers.
“If you want to win a cup you’ve got to beat the top teams at some point.”
Step in the right direction
“You can’t really avoid seeing people writing us off on social media,” said Cameron.
“Sometimes it’s good being an underdog and holding on to that mentality.
“We want to show people they’ve underestimated us and that we’ll do a lot better than they might think.
“Sunday’s result was a good start but it’s still very early days.
“As a squad, we’re really positive that we can do better than the last two or three years here but we need to keep proving that over the course of a long season.
“We won 3-0 on Sunday but there was plenty of room for improvement.
“I view that as a positive.
“There was no way we were at our absolute max.
“In the Aberdeen and Kilmarnock games we gave away too many big chances.
“As an 11 we need to be tighter and more organised out of possession.
“We’re working on that a lot in training.
“It will gel the more we get to know each other.”
Wembley and Hampden double
Cameron has played – and won – at the home of English football and, with Rangers being forced to move from Ibrox temporarily, he’s got an early-season opportunity to complete a cross-border double.
“I had a great day at Wembley with Notts County in a play-off final,” he recalled.
“There was big pressure, knowing how much it would mean to the fans to get promoted.
“That can be quite daunting.
“Luckily we came out on the right end of it.
“To get promoted at Wembley was a real career highpoint.
“I’m really looking forward to playing at Hampden now.
“I’ve been there a couple of times – but only to watch Scotland play when I was involved in the under-age set-up.
“It will be great to get on the pitch for the first time.
“We know Rangers are a good team but we’ve got to get the balance right of showing them respect but not too much.
“Potentially, it not being at Ibrox could be a good thing for us.”
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