Ryan Esson helped Caley Thistle thrive as underdogs in their last Scottish Cup semi final and he insists they must do so again when they face Hearts this weekend.
Goalkeeper Esson was part of the side which famously defeated Celtic 3-2 in extra-time in 2015, before going on to lift the trophy courtesy of their final victory over Falkirk.
Esson, who began his career with hometown club Aberdeen, says the Highlanders must carry belief they can defy the odds once again.
He said: “I enjoyed it at the time. There are a couple of us still there from the coaching staff – Scott Kellacher is still there.
“It’s a semi final – and we want to try and get to the final because nobody will remember this if we don’t go on and win it.
“Because it was Celtic, we were underdogs which was a bit similar to this. After that we knew we had a chance in the final, as we were actually favourites which was the first time that had happened.
“It was only pressure from ourselves. We knew what was expected of us and ultimately we ended up delivering it – although it was a good story at the end of it. We did what we needed to do.”
Esson is now jointly in charge of Caley Jags’ under-18s side in addition to his goalkeeping coach role, with the 39-year-old currently in his testimonial season at Caledonian Stadium.
Esson is enjoying his increased workload, adding: “I’m much more involved in the coaching side of it now, even though I was involved in it last time.
“A lot of preparation work has gone into this game. We have watched a few things and seen a few weaknesses, so it’s up to us to exploit that as a team.
“I’m doing some outfield stuff with Barry Wilson for the under-18s now, so it’s all coming into place nicely.
“There’s a lot of work behind it. The under-18s are going all right. We had a wee dip in form which was to be expected, because they have not had much recovery time.
“Hopefully we have come out the other side of it stronger and learned a lot of lessons from it.
“They deserve most of the praise as they do most of the work – we just tell them what to do.
“Coaching is like that. You have got to put an expectation on the players but they have got to deliver as well.
“It’s up to them – if they deliver they get all the credit.”
