They will be managerial adversaries at East End Park on Tuesday night but St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson and Dunfermline counterpart Stevie Crawford are cut from the same coaching cloth.
Davidson knows from his time working alongside his former Scotland team-mate at East End Park that their Fife Betfred Cup quarter-final opponents will come at the Perth side with an attacking game plan.
And the insight each has on the other man’s strategy will provide an intriguing sub-plot to a high-stakes fixture.
“Stevie wants them to play and have belief and confidence,” said Davidson.
“He is similar to myself in that regard.
“I played with Stevie for Scotland and we were together on the Pro Licence. That was the connection. We got on well.
“He is a good lad and a good manager as well.
“He has grown into the job. He was a first-time manager when he got the job, like myself.
“Obviously we worked together so I know how he is thinking. I know his thought process and he will probably know mine.
“It’s a great club. Coming back from Stoke it rekindled my passion for football again.
“There are a good set of people behind the scenes and obviously I know a lot of the boys.
“I watched Dunfermline against Raith Rovers and at the start of the season as well.
“They have a good blend of experience and youth with a lot of energy in their team, especially going forward.
“They have a good balance about them so it will be a tough game.
“It will be nice to see them all again but hopefully we can pull something off.”
Actually, he might just be 51-49.
Davidson may have a full squad at his disposal to try and win through to the Betfred last four, with Michael O’Halloran the only injury doubt.
“Mikey’s 50-50,” he said. “Actually, he might just be 51-49.
“We’ll see how it is today. He tried for Saturday because, with Craig Conway out, it was a good chance to get his place back in the team.
“Hopefully he’ll make it.
“None of the players who came off on Saturday were injured. We just needed to try and change things.
“Looking back, it was quite an even game and we dominated possession for most of it. But we conceded bad goals at bad times. We were in the ascendancy when we conceded the second.
“After that, even though we tried to change things, they sat in and defended very well.”
Cup runs are always a mixture of on-pitch glory and off-pitch financial benefits. Never has that been more true than in 2020.
“It’s a huge game for both of us,” said Davidson. “One is going to have a chance of getting to a final.
“During this Covid time, it would be massive for whichever club wins.
“It will help with a lot of things behind the scenes – the commercial side, the academy. It’s about the bigger picture as well.”
Although Davidson needs no reminding about the rewards of going all the way to the final of the competition, short-term thinking is required from him and his players. It certainly served Saints well in 2013/14.
We need to make sure we’re right mentally and physically.
“I don’t look too far ahead that year (when they won the Scottish Cup),” he said. “I think it was only after we had beaten Aberdeen in the semi that I started to think about a final.
“Actually, I think it was when an Aberdeen player missed a good chance early in the second half to put them 2-0 up. I thought then: ‘Here we go’.
“It’s the old cliché – we can only look at tomorrow night’s game which will be a really tough one. We need to make sure we’re right mentally and physically.
“It’s been nice to have the Betfred start during the league season rather than before it. It gives a break from the league and allows the players to have a different thought process.
“We’re into one-off games and it’s how we perform tomorrow that will dictate whether we go through.
“The players know themselves they have to forget about talk of getting to Hampden and just focus on this game.”
Davidson added: “Over the last five or six games I have probably started 16 or 17 of the squad. I have no qualms about who I pick tomorrow.
“We have played against two Premier League teams and got through.
“So they all know what they are supposed to be doing.”
