If St Johnstone defender Steven Anderson has his way, this afternoon his former mentor, Brechin City manager Jim Weir, will have cause to regret spending hours on one-to-one training with him a few years ago.
Today’s Scottish Cup quarter-final at Glebe Park will see pupil coming up against teacher for the first time since Weir left his McDiarmid Park coaching position.
Anderson will be forever grateful for the time the then Saints’ assistant manager spent with him honing his defensive skills, but that gratitude will be put on hold for 90 minutes.
The former Dundee United centre-back recalled, “I learned a lot from Jim. He used to have me out on the training ground on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for extra training.”
He continued, “He’s so well respected by everyone at this club because of what he’s achieved. You don’t think about friendships or anything like that when it comes to these games, though.
“You do what’s best for the team and, if we knock them out, so be it, but I know exactly what he’s like and he’ll have his team fired up to try and put us out.
“They’ll know all about us and we’ll know all about them through the work the gaffer has done.”
Anderson is one of the longest serving Saints at the club and, as such, has experienced semi-final heartbreak on several occasions.
He said, “We’re all desperate to go that one stage further but we have to take one step at a time. There’s been a few times we’ve got close but it’s never quite happened.
“Whatever happens I’ve really enjoyed this season. It’s the first year I’ve had a real run in the SPL and I’ve loved it. That really helps you with confidence, and hopefully I can take it further.”Birmingham CityWeir will tell his players to draw on Birmingham City’s recent Carling Cup victory against Arsenal for inspiration as they seek to pull off a giant-killing mission of their own.
The odds are stacked against the second division part-timers claiming an SPL scalp, but Weir equates the challenge ahead of them to that which confronted the Midlands club at Wembley a few weeks ago.
He said, “This is the biggest game of my time in management. If we win it will be the biggest achievement in my entire career.
“That’s not taking away anything I achieved at St Johnstone because the club was fantastic to me but to lead Brechin City into the semi-final of the Scottish Cup would have us in dreamland.
Weir added, “I have players that can play at a higher level, I don’t doubt that. Rory McAllister takes centre stage most of the time because he is a goalscorer, but there are others in my team that can play on a stage above the second division.
“Hopefully we can develop Brechin into a team capable of playing at the next level and that’s the first division.
“The league is the priority and always will be, but we are looking forward to an occasion everyone in Brechin will enjoy. We know we have to be at our best and Saints have to have an off day.
“We will give them a game and I’m looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces who I’ve worked with in the past.”
Saints will still be without Michael Duberry, Sam Parkin and Kevin Moon, but the good news is that midfielders Chris Millar and Jody Morris have recovered from hamstring and back injuries respectively and will be available.