Playing in a cup final in front of a massive crowd will be a new experience for many of the Peterhead players, but midfielder Simon Ferry knows exactly what to expect.
The 28-year-old started his career at Celtic before joining Swindon Town in 2010 following a successful loan spell with the Robins.
Ferry played in the 2010 League 1 play-off final in front of 73,000 at Wembley. Although Swindon lost the match 1-0 to Millwall, Ferry hopes the experience will help him in Sunday’s Petrofac Training Cup final against Rangers at Hampden.
He said: “It was one of the best days of my career. I played in front of a full house and all my family came down to watch the game. It was something I will never forget, although I didn’t play that well.
“I played again at Wembley a couple of years later in the Football League Trophy final, but we lost 2-0 to Chesterfield. That time I played well and was nowhere near as nervous.
“But no player knows how he is going to react on the day.
“Just because I have played at Wembley before doesn’t mean I will be any more relaxed than anyone else as that was ages ago. If you don’t get nervous then you shouldn’t be playing football.
“I think the Rangers players will be the same. Everyone gets nervous before a cup final but it is going to be a great experience. It is an occasion we have to try to enjoy.”
Ferry, who played with Rangers goalkeeper Wes Foderingham during his time at Swindon, accepts his side will have its work cut out containing a Rangers side top of the Scottish Championship.
He added: “I watched them against Dundee in the Scottish Cup and they were brilliant. I know Mark Warburton’s strengths from the way Brentford played in England. Rangers play great football. They pass and move the ball quickly.
“They are a very good team and it will be difficult.
“But if we can hold out for the first 20 or 30 minutes we have players who can hurt them.
“We need to keep it tight at the back and hopefully we can catch them on the counter-attack.”