The Thurso branch of the Gary Mackay-Steven “fan club” will be in full attendance up in Inverness tonight, hoping to roar the winger and Dundee United to victory and into the semi-finals of the League Cup.
The 22-year-old was drafted back into the Tangerines’ starting line-up on Saturday against St Mirren and more than played his part in the thumping 4-0 success.
Now, he hopes he has done enough to retain his place in the Highlands after begging his team-mates to help him get as many of his family and friends to the game as possible.
Thurso-born Mackay-Steven said: “I have been on at the rest of the boys to try to get all the spare tickets going. They get used by my family and friends.
“I always receive a few requests when I go up to that neck of the woods. The last time we were up in Dingwall I think I managed to get 23 tickets in total for friends and family.
“I’m not too sure how many I will get this time but there will be a fair few.Join us from 7pm for live updates from the Caledonian Stadium.“Everyone is keen to get to the game. They will all be coming through from Thurso to support me and the team, which is great.”
Mackay-Steven received a personal boost of his own on Saturday, being handed his first start since he faced Ross County last month.
United signalled their attacking intent right from the first whistle against the Buddies and the winger believes the overall team performance was as good as any since he arrived at Tannadice.
And he is hoping they can produce a similar display against Inverness.
Mackay-Steven said: “It was great to be back in the team and to be handed a start again. It has been a bit frustrating in the last few weeks with niggly injuries and being out of the team. So I was delighted to get back in and obviously to get the win was nice.
“I thought from the first minute when Nadir (Ciftci) ran at their defence put us on the front foot right away. We were good value for our win and we possibly could have had a few more goals on another day.
“From front to back, the whole team played well for the whole 90 minutes. I think it was one of the best performances since I came to the club and it sets things up nicely for what is a big week for us.
“We obviously have Inverness in the cup which is a massive game for us. We want to go up there and definitely get ourselves in the hat for the next round.
“Saturday’s win was a great confidence boost and hopefully we can bring that into the Inverness game.”
With Celtic and Rangers already out, every side left in the League Cup believes they have a chance of lifting the trophy and Mackay-Steven admitted that United are no different.
He said: “Everyone still in the cup will think it is a great opportunity for them. It will be a tough game up in Inverness but we feel we are capable of going there and getting a win.
“If we could win this trophy it would be a huge achievement. At the start of the season our goals were to do as well as we can in the league but also to challenge in the cups as well.
“So this is a great chance for us and we would all be delighted if we could win it.”
United have already been beaten once this season by Inverness, back in August at Tannadice on a day when the home side struggled to cope with the physicality of Terry Butcher’s men.
However, Mackay-Steven insists that the Tangerines will stick firmly to their own game plan in the Highlands tonight.
He added: “It is all about us playing our own game. If we can attack from the first whistle and really go at them, putting them on the back foot, we are confident we can make chances.
“If we take them, then we can be confident of winning the game.
“We won’t change our style of play and I don’t see why we should. Our defence has been great and our front players have been creating and scoring goals so hopefully it will be more of the same up in Inverness.”