INVERNESS Caledonian Thistle have always had a special relationship with the Scottish Cup. They announced themselves on the Scottish football scene on the night Super Caley famously went ballistic to dump Celtic out of the Scottish Cup in February 2000 and end John Barnes’ managerial tenure at Parkhead.

Then three years later they were at it again as the Celtic side that would march onto the UEFA Cup Final came a cropper in the Highlands just days after Martin O’Neill’s charges had taken the scalp of Liverpool.

And, of course, in 2015, some 20 years after the merger of Highland League outfits Caledonian and Inverness Thistle they got their hands on the famous old trophy when they defeated Falkirk at Hampden, having taken care of Celtic, once again, in the semi-final.

Now they are heading back to Hampden on Saturday for a William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final showdown with Hearts and defender Brad McKay, who scored the winner against Ayr United on Saturday to keep them on track for the Ladbrokes Championship play-offs, believes they can cause another upset. Inverness lost 5-0 at Tynecastle in the Betfred Cup at the start of the season but McKay feels they are now ready for the challenge.

McKay said: “I think we can upset the odds. We played them at the start of the season but touch wood it won’t be a repeat of that and I don’t think it will. We played into their hands then, lost three quick goals and that saw us off early doors and when they get going at Tynecastle that can be the way it goes.

“But now we’re better equipped, we’ve got players that have come in and made a difference. We’re quietly optimistic and I’m sure the manager will have a gameplan – but first and foremost he’ll tell us to enjoy it.

“I’m just grateful I’ve had a run in the Scottish Cup because I’ve never had that in my career. Last year we were knocked out by Dundee when we should have beaten them and you always look back at what could and should have been.

“This is the year for us.”

McKay is a boyhood Hearts fans and lived the dream by pulling on the famous maroon top but there is no doubting where his loyalties now lie.

He said: “Absolutely, I’m determined to beat them. You support the team you play for.

“It was my dream to play for Hearts but once you leave you realise you’ve got a career to pursue and you’ve got to move on.

“And Caley Thistle are the team I support now and the team I want to take to the final.

“I’ve got loads of Hearts fans that are friends and family, so it will be a nice occasion for me.

“I was at Hampden when Hearts won the Scottish Cup in 2012 but I was just a young boy and wasn’t involved in the squad.

“I got to the League Cup Final with Hearts against St Mirren, having made my debut the week before in the Edinburgh derby, but I didn’t get to play in the final.

“I got to warm-up on the pitch and stuff, so hopefully this is the time for me to play on the pitch and enjoy it.”

With Coll Donaldson suspended for the semi-final and Jamie McCart toiling with a knock, manager John Robertson hoped to keep McKay on the bench and not risk him ahead of Hampden. Those plans changed when Donaldson went off injured at Ayr – but four minutes after coming on McKay notched the game’s only goal as Inverness took a huge stride towards securing their play-off spot.

McKay added: “That’s a massive three points for us. It’s another step closer and probably put us another win away from securing it.”