Hamilton Accies skipper Scott Martin admits last weekend’s call-off gave him extra-time to bond with newborn daughter Sophia.
But he knows it will be far from child’s play when Accies make the trip to Banks O’Dee today looking to avoid a Scottish Cup upset.
The 27-year-old became a father for the second time a fortnight ago and with Accies’ Championship clash with Raith postponed due to snow, Martin got a bonus day with kids Sophia and Lily, 3.
However, this week will see Accies make a long journey to Aberdeen to face a side riding high in the Highland League and Martin is determined to get the job done.
He said: “Hopefully the wee break has done us the world of good. It gives boys struggling with injuries extra time to get back and it gave me sometime with the kids.
“Obviously we would have rather played last week, but for me to get two full days with Sophia was great. She’s been brilliant. It was a bit wild, but good at the same time.
“Christmas has just gotten a wee bit busier, that’s for sure!
“But the boys are looking forward to Saturday. There’s some good players in these teams and we know it will be a challenge for us, but this is where our professionalism has to come into play. We are there to do a job and we’ll try to do it as best we can.
“You are expected to win the game and if you don’t, it is a sore one. It is just part of the privileged position we are in as professional players that we will be favourites and we’ve got to show that on Saturday.”
Martin is the last remaining player to be involved in Hamilton’s shock third round exit to Auchinleck Talbot in 2021 and he knows that will serve as a big warning of the pitfalls at this stage of the competition.
He added: “I had just come back from an injury in that Talbot game and it was a sore one.
“People maybe look down on teams like that but the likes of Talbot and Banks O’Dee have players who could easily make the step up in level, but maybe work commitments don’t allow them to.
“So we won’t take them lightly at all. We are the type of group that respects any opponent we come up against.
“I think everyone in the changing room has had a tough result in the cup before so we know that it will be a tough game up there.
“They are a good side and doing really well in their league so we can’t turn our noses up at them.”
Accies go into it off the back of heavy defeats to Livingston [3-1] and Partick Thistle [5-1] in the league.
Martin added: “Momentum is massive in football and anywhere we can find it, we will take and try to ride that train as long as we can.
“Hopefully this can be the start of us putting a run of games together. This is a good game where we can get a result and start grinding them out in the league as well off the back of it.”