Peterhead captain Scott Brown has toppled Premiership sides before with the Blue Toon, but Dundee would top the lot.
The Dark Blues come to Balmoor tonight in the last-16 of the Scottish Cup and it is a chance for this group of players to make a little bit of history.
Peterhead have only made the quarter-finals once in their history, in 2001, and have the chance to repeat that in front of a national TV audience.
“I would think it’s probably the biggest game I’ve been involved in at Peterhead,” said Brown. “We’ve beaten Hearts, we’ve beaten Dundee United. We had a chance to beat St Johnstone last year in the League Cup, which they went on to win.
“I think the fact it’s the last-16 and the chance to get into the quarter-finals doesn’t come around often for Peterhead – it’s the reward that’s the biggest thing.
“When you listen to the draw after the last game, you want a Premiership club or you want a winnable tie. We got the Premiership club, but we’ve got nothing to lose.
“We know we need to be at our best and hope Dundee have an off-night. If we work hard and play at our very best, we’ve got a small chance.”
Brown had the chance to leave Peterhead last month when Championship side Ayr United tried to bring him in.
He has never hidden his desire to one day go back to full-time football and a move to Falkirk fell through in 2020.
It is something which he may revisit in the summer when his contract expires, but he credits a great understanding with manager Jim McInally and chairman Rodger Morrison on his situation.
“Going back full-time is never something I’ve hidden from Peterhead,” said Brown. “But the timing in January wasn’t quite right.
“I’m happy to still be at Peterhead and I’m going to keep working hard until the end of the season.
“It’s always nice from a personal point of view that people are interested – it shows you’re doing well – but I’m going to knuckle down for the rest of the season and reassess things when my contract is up.
“The door’s never been closed on going back full-time. Working in a family business, you don’t just want to disappear and January is a funny month as well.
“I would say I’m a better player now then when I was full-time with St Johnstone, having come to Peterhead and played 200-odd games. When I was at St Johnstone, I was young, naive and hadn’t really experienced much in the game.
“If the timing was right and the club was right – that’s not to say Ayr weren’t the right club, they might be in the summer – then it’s something I’d definitely be interested in.
“I don’t want to be sitting there at 40 with regrets thinking I should have given football a better chance. But we’ll wait and see, no-one can tell what the future holds.
“Going back to the Falkirk interest, I had signed a contract at Peterhead and they were willing to let me go. That just sums up what kind of men the chairman and the manager are.
"We know that if they play like that at Balmoor we will need to dig very deep to keep them out"
Jim wary of the Dark Blue threat
⬇️https://t.co/sVjn8tFRIB pic.twitter.com/NkgaiPBBom
— Peterhead FC (@pfcofficial) February 11, 2022
“They were happy not to stand in my way. For one reason or another that didn’t come off, but I went back to Peterhead and probably had my best season.
“When the chairman and manager are like that, it does make you more hungry to do well for them while you’re at the club.”
Brown has battled a calf injury of late, but is available for tonight’s game. He hopes the tie will give those behind-the-scenes at Balmoor their reward for keeping the club stable during a troublesome couple of years.
“There’s people that run the club day-to-day that don’t get the recognition the players do on the pitch,” he added. “It’s something the club have worked hard at over the last couple of years, to remain stable when it’s not been an easy time.
“I dare say Monday night will be a reward for them. Whether we do the business for them remains to be seen, but I’m sure they’ll enjoy hosting a TV game and a Premiership club.”
Peterhead chairman Rodger Morrison dares to dream of Scottish Cup progress
