Dundee boss Paul Hartley has issued a plea to the club’s fans to turn out in large numbers once again for Saturday’s William Hill Scottish Cup tie with Aberdeen.
The game, which kicks off at 12.15, will be shown live on the BBC and with season tickets not valid, punters are being asked to stump up £25 for an adult brief.
That combination of factors could understandably impact on the attendance however Hartley has urged the “terrific” Dark Blues support to roar his players on to victory over the Dons.
He said: “It should be a great cup game.
“I think Aberdeen will bring over 4,000 down and I am sure there will be a big turn-out from our fans.
“It is live on the telly and it is a great chance for the players to go and show we are a good team.
“Look, we know it is expensive to get in and it is what it is.
“It is not up to the players to decide how much it is to get into a game of football.
“All we want to try to do is to get a good home backing which we have done this season.
“Our crowds have been terrific and I would urge them to back the team again on Saturday.”
The Dundee v Aberdeen game is just one of several ties pairing teams in the Premiership against one another, meaning that there will be a few big-name casualties exiting the cup once the dust has settled this weekend.
Hartley sees that as an opportunity for Dundee to exploit if they can overcome the challenge of Derek McInnes’s Dons.
He added: “We want to get a run in the cup but we think we have the toughest draw out of everybody.
“Aberdeen will maybe be saying the same about us.
“But if you get through this one, then who knows?
“We are though under no illusions about how tough a game it will be for us.
“Aberdeen are a quality team who are also on a good run of form.
“I think I have seen Aberdeen more than anybody this season.
“They produced a good, professional performance on Sunday (winning 1-0 at Partick Thistle).
“They know how to see a match out.
“So we know we will have to be at the top of our game if we hope to get a result on Saturday.
“The previous league match here was a great game of football with both teams trying to play and pass the ball so this has the makings of a cracking cup tie.
“There are a lot of Premiership teams playing each other. I think you need a little bit of luck in a cup competition but Saturday is a game we are looking forward to.”