Chris Erskine could only watch Dundee United’s Scottish Cup journey with envy last season.
The midfielder was on loan at Partick Thistle while the Tangerines were battling their way through to a Celtic Park final with St Johnstone.
Now back at Tannadice, and a regular first team player, Erskine wants to taste a bit of cup success for himself.
United will be one game away from another final if they beat Hibs in their last eight League Cup clash at Easter Road tonight.
“I wasn’t part of any cup run whatsoever last season,” Erskine said.
“Obviously I wasn’t here and Partick Thistle were out the cup when I went there.
“Everybody looks forward to cup games. A good cup run is a big goal every season.
“The boys did really well to get to the Scottish Cup final. It would have been a massive achievement if they’d won it, and I was willing them on in the final.
“It would be great to be part of another cup run, and hopefully go one better.”
Erskine was the only United player who came close to scoring in a disappointing performance at Inverness on Saturday, when he hit the post in the early stages.
He insisted that the players know where they need to improve tonight.
“We weren’t at it on Saturday,” he admitted.
“We’re going through a wee spell where we’re just not playing well, to be honest.
“We’re not passing the ball, but hopefully we can get back to passing like we know we can against Hibs.
“When you’re in a spell like this it’s a case of hard work and back to basics to get out of it.
“We’ll need to work hard for each other and things will improve off the back of that. It will be nice to get a wee break from the league and hopefully we can bounce back.”
Erskine believes the football philosophy of Hibs manager Alan Stubbs may work in United’s favour at Easter Road.
“It will suit us if they come and have a go at us and if they try to play football,” he observed. “We prefer that to teams sitting in.
“It could hopefully play into our hands.
“I saw the Hearts game. Although they lost that late goal they did very well against a team who have been in great form.
“I’m sure they’ll be confident going into this match. They’re a big club and will want to do well in this competition the same as us.”