Ray Farningham admits there will be an added incentive for the Dundee players when they face Stenhousemuir in the quarter-final of the Ramsdens Cup the chance of a money-spinning tie against Rangers.
The Dark Blues assistant boss has warned his players that while Martyn Corrigan’s Warriors side are from the division below Dundee, they will certainly be no pushovers.
The club have had Stenny watched and Farningham stressed they are a side laced with quality and experience, including former Dark Blues favourite Sean Higgins.
He said: “As long as we can take care of Stenhousemuir, then there is the chance of being drawn against Rangers in the semi-final or hopefully the final.
“There is a lot of money there for the club but that all depends on getting through this round.
“We will be taking nothing for granted against Stenhousemuir. We have had them watched a couple of times and they are a very experienced side.
“A lot of them have played at the highest level and have come down the leagues.
“We will, of course, have to look out for Sean Higgins. You always want to do well when you come back to your old club and he is a decent striker who has played in the SPL.
“It will be a hard, hard game.”
The Ramsdens Cup has its detractors but Farningham knows just how much winning it would mean to the fans, having witnessed first hand the scenes of joy when Dundee lifted what was then called the Alba Challenge Cup in 2009.
Jocky Scott’s side came back from the dead to beat Inverness in an unforgettable match in front of thousands of Dundee fans in Perth.
Farningham, who was Scott’s assistant that day, said: “That was a great game. At 2-0 down against a good Inverness side, I am sure a lot of the fans thought that was it.
“But we came back brilliantly in the second half to win 3-2. It was a fantastic experience in front of a sell-out crowd at McDiarmid Park.
“The further on in the competition you go, the excitement builds and it is a cup we are determined to win.”
Dundee will have almost a full squad available for the game against Stenhousemuir and Farningham admitted there may be a chance for the home fans to see teenage striking sensation Craig Wighton in action after the youngster scored two goals for the reserves against Cowdenbeath earlier this week.
The assistant manager said: “Everybody is back in full training bar Iain Davidson and Jamie Reid, who has injured his ankle.
“Hopefully, Jamie will be back in with the squad on Friday. I was at the reserve game and Craig and Martin Boyle did well up front. It was a very young squad against Cowdenbeath but the whole team did well.
“Craig took his goals really well and he will be knocking on the door very soon.”