THE scenes from Dundee United's Scottish Cup triumph in 2010 will live long in the memory of everybody connected to the club.
Well, almost everybody.
Behind the clamour for photographs, the open-top bus parade and the orange-tinted sunglasses stood Johnny Russell. He revelled in the moment and congratulated his team-mates, but the striker always felt somewhat detached from the celebrations. A spell on loan at Raith Rovers earlier that season had left Russell cup-tied for the final – in which United eased to a 3-0 win over Ross County – and he was made to watch it all from the stand.
The lingering frustration of that day has fuelled the United forward as he prepares to make his first steps into this competition today, with the Tannadice side making the lengthy trip to play second division side Stranraer. "I was cup-tied for the 2010 final so I missed out on it all. For the team it was brilliant but, to be honest, I didn't feel part of it," said Russell, whose side could be without defenders Sean Dillon and Gavin Gunning.
"The last time we won the cup we had a very difficult tie against Partick Thistle to begin with. It's games like that you have to come through. Hopefully we can come through this tie and this can be the start of another memorable run."
Russell poses the main threat for his side, with Gary Mackay-Steven sidelined with a broken hand. There is a pressure on the striker to find a route past their lower-league opponents, then, and he has urged his side to follow his lead and make sure Stranraer are not given a chance to secure an upset.
"This is definitely our biggest game of the season so far. We can't afford any slip-up," he said. "We're expected to win games like that. We don't want to be one of the teams who go out early. If we lose a goal there early it would be difficult.
"I've been to Stair Park before with Forfar and Raith. We've got a lot of experience in the team and, to be fair, there is nobody in our team going to take this tie lightly. We all know we're in for a really difficult game."
The gravity of the tie is not lost on Stephen Aitken either, although it represents a giant leap in his nascent coaching career. The Stranraer manager has only been in the post for four weeks following the sacking of Keith Knox but that is long enough to develop a sense of anticipation ahead of his first major cup tie as a coach.
"I am only just in the door and I am facing a manager in Peter Houston that has won the Scottish Cup and has been involved with Scotland," said Aitken, who will assess the fitness of brother Chris this morning, as the midfielder prepares to return from an operation on his leg.
"It is a great test for me to pit my wits against him just a few weeks after being appointed. Dundee United are a well-established and high-performing SPL side but we are all looking forward to it."
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