Queen of the South are dreaming of producing a Scottish Cup shock tomorrow.
Peter Murphy’s men are set to welcome Premiership side St Mirren to Dumfries, with a bumper crowd expected at Palmerston.
The Paisley side have lost their last four games and while Queens are keen to pile on the misery, Murphy knows it won’t be easy.
He said: For a team in League One to play a Premiership side there’s no good time to play them but if we can start the game well and keep the game going for as long as possible or get an early goal it could change the whole perception of a day as – psychology is massive in football.
“They’re a Premiership side, we’re under no illusions they’ve got unbelievable quality. They’re a big, strong, powerful side.
“My players might get a bit of an eye opener in the first 10 minutes and we just need to make sure we’re ready for that, start well and see where that takes us.
“We got a win against Cove and a last minute draw last week, we were 1-0 up and should have won, and the players are really buoyed by that and now we take it into the cup.
“Anything can happen on a cup day.
“The dream of getting through in the cup against a Premiership side is there but at the moment it’s only a dream.”
The two sides met at the same stage last season – although that game was at The SMiSA Stadium, with Stephen Robinson’s side progressing after a nervy 1-0 victory.
New Queens signing Jordan Allan is unavailable for the clash and Murphy is hoping to do some more business before the January transfer window closes.
And a win tomorrow could help finance some new signings.
He said: “A cup run is very important to the club financially, especially when you’re asking about players in and players out.
“If we can get through to the next round it could transform our season financially. It’s really important.
“Everybody loves the cup. To give fans a day to remember would be excellent and for our players it would give them a lift going forward the league season.
“We’re under no illusions, it’s going to be a very, very tough day but there’s always hope in the cup.
“There’s been interest from other teams in our players because of how football works, when they see some players aren’t playing you get phone calls but we’re also making phone calls ourselves.
“We’re trying to do some business but I think that’ll depend on who goes out.”
Queens have no fresh injury worries, with Murphy having the same squad available as he’s had for a few weeks.
Kick-off tomorrow at Palmerston is 3pm – with the game going to extra-time and possibly penalties if the scores are level after 90 minutes.