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WIN WOULD ECLIPSE DARVEL MARVELS

Dodds senses Caley Jags lifting the cup would be the shock of all shocks

By CALUM CROWE

WITH the final chapter set to be written in Saturday’s final, this season has already proven to be one of the most memorable in the long and storied history of the Scottish Cup.

When people recall the 2022-23 campaign in years to come, one result in particular will live long in the memory.

It was back in January when part-time minnows Darvel dumped Aberdeen out of the competition on a famous night in Ayrshire.

Granted, Darvel are lavishlyfunded for a Junior side who operate in essentially the sixth tier of the Scottish football pyramid. But there was no doubt about the magnitude of the result. By common consent, it was the greatest upset in the 138-year history of the Scottish Cup.

As he tries to mastermind his own act of giantkilling, Inverness Caley Thistle boss Billy Dodds is bullish over where victory over Celtic would rank.

If the Championship’s Caley Jags can kill Celtic’s Treble dream at Hampden on Saturday, Dodds believes it would trump anything that has gone before.

‘I think it could eclipse Darvel against Aberdeen,’ he said. ‘The cup competition is all about fairytales, miracles — and it has happened already this season.

‘If it happens again, personally, it would be brilliant for me. But it would just typify my bunch of players and what they have in them.

‘For us to nearly reach the play-offs in the Championship this year was incredible. I knew we had it in us once the squad was fit, but we still had to win the games. I was telling every man and his dog that we’d win games when I got my players back fit, but it might have gone the other way.

‘We might have lost games and I’d look like a fool. But I knew they would come good. We got to the Ayr game on the last day and ended up losing out.

‘That can happen, but the players pulled off a minor miracle to get there. I’m hoping to do the same in the final.’

Ahead of facing Ange Postecoglou’s Treble chasers at Hampden, Inverness are priced as high as 20-1 with some bookmakers. Long odds in a two-horse race.

However, Dodds feels a sense of magic could be in the air. He knows from his own experience as a player and a coach that cup wins for the provincial sides are just that little bit extra special.

The corridors at the Caledonian Stadium are covered in memorabilia from the club’s Scottish Cup triumph of 2015 — and it’s something Dodds wants his players to take inspiration from.

He was also an assistant coach to Jim McIntyre at Ross County when the Staggies went all the way and clinched League Cup glory in 2016. ‘I think people remember the fairytales,’ he said. ‘You just have to look downstairs and see all the boys on the wall when Inverness last won the cup. ‘I know it was against Falkirk, but they beat Celtic in the semi-final. Of course, things like that are always remembered — and quite rightly so. ‘Any provincial club who wins the Scottish Cup or wins a trophy, like Ross County winning the League Cup in 2016, it’s got a right to be remembered. ‘It might be generations before you win it again. That’s why they put it up on the walls, because they want players of this generation to aspire to it, to walk past it and think: “I want a bit of that”. It has got to inspire players.’ Dodds’ side narrowly missed out on the play-offs in the Championship after that 2-1 loss against Ayr United on the final night. But the Caley Thistle boss is taking confidence from the way in which his team have previously disposed of Premiership opposition.

Inverness have knocked out Livingston and Kilmarnock en route to Saturday’s final with Dodds eyeing a bigger shock now.

‘We respect every opponent and we have done so throughout this competition,’ he said. ‘We respected Livingston and Kilmarnock as well, and we had to because they are Premiership teams. But we know we need to focus on what we can do.

‘I’ve got a group here who have beaten Premiership opposition on quite a regular basis, not all the time. We ran St Johnstone close in the play-offs last year. At the start of the season, we beat Livingston in the Premier Sports Cup, then beat them in the Scottish Cup.

‘We are going to need a bit of luck, and we are going to need top-notch performances from our players. I’m going to need my goalkeeper to have a good day.

‘When I was at Queen of the South [as coach in 2008], we played Rangers in the Scottish Cup final. We were 2-0 down at half-time [and then came back to level at 2-2 before losing 3-2]. This competition is all about miracles and they do happen.

‘We are going there on Saturday with the mindset we can win the game. Because of the time off we have had, I have had plenty time to think about how I’m going to try and nullify Celtic.’

Scottish Cup Final Countdown

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2023-05-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-05-31T07:00:00.0000000Z

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