An enduring jibe aimed at St Johnstone fans in the social media age is that they shouldn’t be looking beyond their own county if they’re trying to lay claim to a legitimate ‘derby’ opponent.
Dundee and Dundee United supporters guard their Sandeman Street rivalry with an impenetrable fervour, after all.
Quite what a developing Perthshire Scottish Cup story would do to that (tongue in cheek from a Fair City perspective) debate remains to be seen.
But the prospect of Saints facing a team from their own patch in a competitive fixture in the near future is getting as close to a realistic possibility as has ever been the case.
On Saturday, Jeanfield Swifts (2.3 miles from McDiarmid Park by road) and Luncarty (4.2 miles) are both in Scottish Cup second round action.
And if all goes to plan they would be one victory away from an all-in draw that could pair them with the great and the good of Scottish football, the 2021 double-winners among them.
Nobody has a better perspective on the significance of the road travelled thus far by the two East of Scotland League sides – and the magnitude of what could yet follow – than the man who helped get Luncarty into the Scottish Cup for the first time in their history and is now tasked with breaking new ground at Jeanfield.
Swifts manager Robbie Holden, who swapped Brownfields Park for the Riverside Stadium in the summer said: “With a bit of luck and a couple of good performances you can find yourself in round four and playing against a Premiership team.
“If we were ever to play St Johnstone it would be a massive event for the city and really capture the imagination.
“There are other third round ties that, if we got through our one, we’d think we’d have a good chance against the winner.
“So it’s not out with the realms of possibility.”
No inferiority complex
Jeanfield welcome the bottom club in the SPFL, Elgin City, to North Muirton.
And they don’t need to put inflate ambitions or expectations. Swifts have a genuine shot at progression.
“The players know they can compete with teams at that level,” said Holden.
“We regularly play Arbroath in bounce games.
“I know there’s a big difference between that and a competitive game but we beat them 4-3 a couple of weeks ago.
“You never get an 80% Arbroath under Dick Campbell. They give it everything, bounce game or not.
“I take heart from that. You need to be at a good level to compete with them.
“When we’re at our best against the top teams in our league, you see what we’re capable of.
“I think we’ve got every reason to be optimistic. It will come down to if our players produce their best football on the day.”
Bottom of the SPFL opponents
On whether Elgin’s League Two plight will work in Jeanfield’s favour, Holden observed: “There’s two ways of looking at it.
“One is that they’re bottom and potentially their confidence could be quite low.
“If we get off to a good start and maybe get a lead, they might think ‘here we go again’.
“The alternative is that the cup will be an escape from the league for them and they’ll look on this as an opportunity to kick-start their season.
“A new manager has come in (Barry Smith) and they’re not losing a lot of goals.
“We’ve done our homework.
“There’s still a good few of their players who were there under Gavin (Price) and Jim (Weir).
“We’ll have to be at our best but if we are at our best, I’m optimistic about our chances.”
Holden added: “The league is obviously important to us – and we’re at the top end in that – but the Scottish Cup always has that extra buzz.
“There’s the Jeanfield-Elgin connections as well.
“In the past we’ve had a manager leave to go there, Gavin.
“Jake Dolzanski plays there – he was at Jeanfield.
“And a few of our lads have played for them – Chris McLeish, Chris Dodd and Aaron Whitehead all went up there with Gavin.
“This club has never made it past the second round and we’ve got the opportunity to change that on Saturday.
“If we were to win I think it would be the biggest result in the club’s history – certainly for as long as I can remember.
“It would be a huge achievement.”
Coming home
Holden’s opportunity to return ‘home’ arose after long-serving manager, Ross Gunnion, decided to take on a behind-the-scenes role.
This Scottish Cup run and only losing one of their 10 East of Scotland Premier Division matches has vindicated ending his four-year spell in charge of Luncarty.
“It was a big decision for us as a coaching team,” said Holden. “We were happy at Luncarty.
“But Jeanfield was my club for a long time as a player.
“Chris (Anton), who has come along as a coach, was captain here. Bally (Whytock) was here as a player as well.
“We knew the quality of the squad and we believed we could re-energise it.
“We’ve made a decent start and hopefully we can build on that.
“Myself and Ross know each other well and he’s been a great support.
“There’s always the risk that someone might be trying to hang on to their old team but that definitely hasn’t been the case here.
“He’s been a sounding board and we’ve all found him really helpful. It’s worked really well.”
Luncarty, second bottom of Jeanfield’s division, are at home to Bo’ness United, fifth in the Lowland League.
“Football in Perthshire is in really good health,” said Holden. “I hope Luncarty get through.
“I had four enjoyable years there and there are great people behind the scenes.
“It was a hard path to get into the Scottish Cup because they don’t have their licence.
“We had to win two cups last season to qualify – the Alex Jack Cup and then a round robin against the cup winners in the south and west.
“That was an amazing year.
“It’s not that long ago Luncarty were in abeyance.
“When you look at budgets and crowds in Fife or through the west, we’re both punching above our weight.
“It’s a remarkable story that we’re fighting to be in the third round of the Scottish Cup.”
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