Danny Devine lifted the Scottish Cup with Caley Thistle in 2015 – and he’s eyeing a fresh shot at glory, starting against Morton today.
The defender was one of the Hampden heroes six years ago when, under John Hughes, the Inverness club won the coveted national trophy for the first time in a 2-1 victory against Falkirk.
Now in his second spell at ICT, the centre-half is determined to help the team see off fellow Championship side Morton this afternoon at the Caledonian Stadium to secure a fourth-round tie.
He said: “Winning the cup before is an incentive for us. We have been there before, so why not give it our all and see how far we can go this time?
“The mood has been good around the training ground this week off the back of the win at Queen of the South last week and we want to take that into Saturday’s game.
🎟️ Reminder that Under 12s are FREE this weekend, with an accompanying Adult, for our Scottish Cup tie against Morton!
Under 12s Tickets aren't available online but are available in-store and over the phone on 01463 22880
👉https://t.co/9250lKia7s pic.twitter.com/ushxqXCFoX
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) November 24, 2021
“It is a good chance for us. Morton are a team we know well, having played them so often in recent seasons.
“Hopefully we can put in a good performance, but most importantly get the win and get into the next round and see who we get. It is always nice to be in the mix with the big sides.
“We have done well in the Scottish Cup over the years. Winning it was massive for us. It would be great if we could put a run together.”
Morton carry threat in cup-tie
Although confident of getting the job done against a side they defeated 2-0 in the league in October, the 29-year-old is wary of a Morton team who still have the potential to cause an upset.
He added: “They were not far off a good result away to Raith Rovers last weekend.
“We got a good win against them here last time, but I am sure they will have been improving on things since then. Their manager will have been working on ways in which they can hurt us.
It won’t be easy against Morton. It really is about us preparing properly after a good win last week.”
Devine up for three huge matches
It is set to be an epic week for ICT, with Raith Rovers visiting in the SPFL Trust Trophy on Tuesday, then Championship leaders Kilmarnock in Inverness next Friday for a game which could take the Highlanders back to top spot.
Devine explained the squad are ready for the home triple-header.
He said: “As footballers, we all want to play games. The boys always prefer that to training. It is a lot of games within a tight timescale, but we have enough quality within our squad to manage that.
“They will be tough, against Morton, Raith and Kilmarnock, but it is about us preparing properly for each one. We aim to perform and try to pick up wins in all three games.”