NICK DASOVIC knows what it takes to reach a league cup final after helping St Johnstone go all the way in 1998/99 season.
The Canadian midfielder netted in the semi-final against Hearts at Easter Road before also scoring in the final against Rangers at Celtic Park.
Unfortunately, his goal against Dick Advocaat’s Light Blues was not enough as Stephane Guivarc’h and Jorg Albertz strikes ensured that the league cup trophy was heading across Glasgow to Ibrox.
Dasovic still feels a sense of disappointment from the outcome of the final, but he hopes the Saints squad of 2020/21 can go one step further this time round as they gear up for a Betfred Cup semi-final against Hibs.
“A lot of the magic about that team was a lot of us did live in the city or near to the city,” he recalled.
“We could see that people hurt when we lost and were happy when we won. Before the final you would walk around the shops and see all the blue and white ribbons and feel everybody getting behind us.
“Having around 11,000 people coming to support us from a city with a population of about 50,000 was amazing. Perth really embraced that team.
“If I have one regret about my time in Scotland it’s that I never got to play at Hampden. It’s such a famous stadium. When we played Rangers in the final at Celtic Park we didn’t have any regrets, even though we lost.
“I never forget sitting in the team bus with the man of the match award, thinking I’d happily have traded it in a heartbeat for the trophy the Rangers players had in the coach beside us. One of them seemed to shrug, like they’d won another trophy so let’s move on.
“But when you looked at the quality of player in their bus – Andrei Kanchelskis, Jorg Albertz, Stephane Guivarc’h, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Sergio Porrini and Lorenzo Amoruso they had an amazing team. The list goes on and on. So for us to push them to 2-1 still rates as an achievement.”
Dasovic will tune into Saints’ last four tie with Jack Ross’ side despite the eight hour time difference between Scotland and his native Canada.
The former midfielder has watched his old club on a number of occasions already this season and he has been impressed with Callum Davidson’s first season at the helm.
He continued: “The senior players will look at this and think it might be their last chance of making a final. It’s a moment they just have to cherish, enjoy it and have no fear.
“They have a chance to get the club to another final but it won’t be easy and they can’t get ahead of themselves. It’s just too bad there will be no fans there to see it.
“It’s crazy the number of games that you get on tv here but I watch St Johnstone as much as I can. It’s easy to keep track of teams around the world nowadays.
“I think Callum is doing a tremendous job at the club. I know they aren’t sitting great in the table at the moment but I like the way they are playing football.
“He has changed the shape a little bit and it’s a brand of football I enjoy watching. And remember he has taken over from Tommy, who is a legend. It wasn’t going to be easy for anyone coming in.
“But I have watched the way Callum deals with things, including his post-match interviews, and he seems calm and organised.”
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