Roarie Deacon made history with Sutton United last year – now he is looking to do the same with Dundee.
The 26-year-old former Arsenal youth player certainly made his mark for the English non-league minnows in the FA Cup last season, scoring six goals as his side made it through to the fifth round of the competition for the first time.
They were handed a glamour tie against the Gunners, shown live on TV, with Deacon hitting the crossbar in a game Arsene Wenger’s Premier League giants ultimately won 2-0.
The pacy front man joined Dundee in the summer and he is fully aware just how long it has been since the club last tasted Scottish Cup success.
Deacon is determined that barren run will finally end this year with the Dark Blues set to face Motherwell at Dens on Saturday with a quarter-final berth up for grabs.
He said: “I had a very good cup run with Sutton United last season.
“I was able to showcase my abilities on the TV in big games against big players.
“I was able to perform and score goals. I felt that helped lift my career to where I am now.
“It was fantastic for me and my team-mates to play against some good teams and get to the fifth round.
“Unfortunately we lost to Arsenal who are obviously a very good outfit.
“But coming up against Motherwell on Saturday, I just want to get out on the pitch and play regular football again.
“With the players we have in our dressing-room, we can go really far in the cup – even win it.”
When asked if the Dundee players were aware of what a Scottish Cup triumph would mean to the club, Deacon replied: “Of course. Last year, we wrote our names in the Sutton history books getting to the fifth round.
“At Dundee now, the gaffer has told us how much he wants to do well in the cup.
“I would love to make some history again for a second year and for a different club.
“It would be fantastic to do so.
“Anything can happen on the day in the cup. Anyone can beat anyone else.
“We have to get that in our heads that no-one who’s put in front of us can beat us on our day.
“Every game we play in the cup has to be our day.”
Deacon admitted inner belief is vitally important to cup success.
He added: “Yes, 100%. Every game we played last year, mentally we believed we could win.
“Not wanting, not thinking . . . believing you can win the game.
“Every player in the Dundee dressing-room knows that. We have a great team and we want to show that in the cup.
“There is a similar spirit to what we had at Sutton.
“There are big characters here as there were at Sutton and I think that can help you get places.”
Deacon knows Dundee will be have to battle hard if they hope to dump fellow Premiership side Motherwell out of the cup.
He said: “They will be the same as they were before – robust, strong, well organised.
“They want to battle but we can battle and we can play. We have multiple ways of playing. The gaffer installed that into us.
“That’s the good thing about our manager. He doesn’t just have a Plan A – he has a Plan B, C or D.
“No matter how Motherwell play, we will stick to our game plan and hopefully come out with the win.”
• Roarie Deacon was speaking as the SPFL Trust & Scottish Book Trust launched the 4-4-2 Reading Challenge which aims to encourage children aged five to 12 years to read four books after which they will receive a free child ticket to attend an SPFL match at participating clubs and a discounted adult ticket. The project is being funded by the SPFL.
