Barry Smith says cup tie is a break from SPL stresses but vows to respect underdogs Livingston

Dundee boss Barry Smith is looking upon this weekend’s Scottish Cup clash with Livingston as welcome respite from their SPL relegation battle.

Smith, whose team have been bottom of the league for virtually the whole season so far, said: ”For once it’s a break from the league.

”It’s something different from the stresses of the league week in and week out.

”There isn’t the strain of the SPL but, at the same time, it’s still another difficult tie. But it’s one the players should be looking forward to and hopefully they respond as a result of that.”

Dundee will be favourites to advance into the next round but they’ve already been beaten by lower-league opposition, Queen’s Park, in the League Cup and Smith certainly won’t be underestimating First Division Livi.

He added: ”We will respect Livingston the way they we respect every other team which we come up against.

”If the players show the sort of attitude and commitment levels they have done in recent weeks then we will give ourselves every chance of winning the tie.

”But we all know how the cup works so we have to be on our toes from the very start and go about our job in a professional manner.”