Cammy Smith was the toast of Tannadice as he grabbed the first hat-trick of his career but he is not going to get carried away by his cup heroics.
Smith was on fire for Dundee United as they sent Partick Thistle tumbling out of the Betfred Cup thanks to their 3-1 win in the last 16 on Tuesday night.
The on-loan Aberdeen man sliced through the Jags’ defence twice before making it a treble from the penalty spot, all before the game had reached 30 minutes.
Playing tucked in behind lead striker Tope Obadeyi, Smith certainly impressed the 5,000 United fans, who sang his name all night.
The same could surely be said of Dons boss Derek McInnes, who watched him from the stand.
Now Smith is determined to keep up the good work – and the scoring – when the Tangerines head to Dumbarton for their second Championship fixture of the season on Saturday.
He said: “It was my first hat-trick in professional football in the first team so I am delighted with that.
“Having never scored one before it was something different and I have to enjoy it.
“We also got a great win and I am delighted to be in the next round.
“Obviously, the hat-trick made it a special night for me but on the whole it was all about the team and there were a lot of good performances.
“I was delighted to get the goals that helped us get the win but if you had said to me before the game that we would win 1-0 with a scrappy goal I would have taken that as well.
“It has been a good start for me and I have settled in fine.
“I knew a few of the United lads before but I have now gotten to know everyone well.
“The coaches have all been good to me and I have hit the ground running but it is only a start.
“You can’t get too carried away because you never know what is around the corner so I know I just need to get my head back down and try to help the team get three points at Dumbarton on Saturday.”
Smith insisted there was never any doubt that, having scored twice by then, he would take the penalty that made it three.
Asked if he doubted he would get the ball off his colleagues, he replied: “I don’t think so.
“When you are on two goals as early as I was and the penalty comes so soon, you are always going to take it.
“I was confident about it because we had a few penalty shoot-outs in the group stages and I was meant to take the last one at Inverness but wasn’t needed.”
United are enjoying their progress in the cup but Smith and his mates realise it is the league that really counts.
It is never easy to head to Dumbarton and win but Ray McKinnon’s men will now take a lot of confidence from the Partick victory into the Sons match.
Smith added: “On Saturday against Queen of the South, the first half wasn’t good enough but in the second I thought we played well and could have won that game at the end.
“We had a bit of momentum going but to come out against Thistle the way we did was brilliant.
“We were looking dangerous going forward and at the back we don’t look like giving much away at the moment so it has been a good start overall.
“However, the manager said in the dressing room that it is only a start and there is a long way to go.”