Cup competitions have been kind to Ross County midfielder Michael Gardyne and he is determined to create fresh memories with the Staggies this season.
Gardyne, who is in his fourth spell with the Dingwall club, helped then First Division County reach their first major final in 2010 when they took on Dundee United at Hampden Park in the Scottish Cup, only to go down 3-0 against the Tannadice club – after beating Neil Lennon’s Celtic in the semi-final.
The 31-year-old left to join United two years later, but following his return to Victoria Park in 2014, Gardyne netted in last year’s 2-1 League Cup final victory against Hibernian.
County host the Dons in the last-16 of the Scottish Cup today, and Gardyne reckons past experiences of cup success have fuelled his appetite for more.
Gardyne, who is two games away from equalling Scott Boyd’s record of 306 appearances for the club, said: “That’s what the cup is all about. We had some success last year and when we get a little taste of it we want more.
“This time it’s the Scottish Cup and we have the chance to make the next round and everyone wants the chance to kick on and have a good cup run. It’s been good in the past for me, scoring in the final and winning the cup and that’s kind of what dreams are made of.
“This game could be a step towards perhaps getting back to Hampden once again.”
The Dons sit second in the Premiership, and make the trip to Dingwall on the back of a fine run of six wins from their last seven matches, however County triumphed 2-1 when the sides last met at Victoria Park in December.
Following last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Rangers at Ibrox, Gardyne is confident his side can be a match for Aberdeen and added: “We’ve done well against them recently.
“They’re obviously a good team, they have fantastic players and Derek McInnes is a good manager, but we’ve got good players and a good manager here.
“We need to play the same way we did against Rangers.
“At home recently we’ve started games well, we need to build on that. It’s the Scottish Cup and it’s what we want to be playing in.
“At home against Aberdeen is big game and hopefully we can get through to the next round.”
Gardyne has recently returned from a hamstring injury suffered in December’s victory against the Dons, and following three substitute appearances the former Celtic player is eager to force his way back into the team.
He added: “It’s nice to be back after five weeks out. I’ve played a couple of half-hours and results weren’t great but the point picked up at Rangers was good and we were disappointed to not win the game.
“These are good times and there are big games coming up so I’m looking forward to hopefully being involved.”
