Dundee United’s Jon Daly has revealed how the club’s Scottish Cup exit still rankles the Tannadice men.
The Tangerines have been in superb form in the SPL, piling up seven wins in their last eight league outings, but relinquishing their grip on the trophy that they won last May has left its imprint on the players.
“The boys have been doing really well in the league recently and seven wins out of eight is good going by anyone’s standards,” said Daly.
“The thing that still grates, though, is our Scottish Cup exit at Motherwell. “Whenever you think back to it, it is difficult because we know we just didn’t turn up on the night.
“It is a shame as it was a great opportunity to try and go on and do something again by winning the Scottish Cup two years in a row.
“But it wasn’t to be and we will have to move on. We still have a lot to play for between now and the end of the season.”
United have a bit of a break before they are in action again, with Rangers coming to town on Tuesday.
With the Light Blues battling it out with Celtic for the championship, Daly and his mates could have a big influence on whether the flag ends up at Ibrox or Celtic Park.
“We have still to play Rangers twice and Celtic once so we could have a say in the ultimate destination of the title,” Daly added.
“Rangers will come to Tannadice desperate to win but we have beaten them here before, as well as at their place recently (on April 2), and hopefully can do the same again.
“We will be giving our all in every game we play and all the teams know they never get an easy game against United, including the Old Firm.
“We will be looking after ourselves first and foremost and worrying about getting as high up the league as possible.”
Keeping a professional eye on his job at United, Daly has also been keeping busy at home with the the arrival of his daughter Shannon.
Now the big Irishman finds himself surrounded by girl power.
“We are really thrilled to have another wee girl, a sister for Sophie, who is aged two and a half now,” said Daly.
“My wife Linda was two weeks overdue this time but when she was taken into hospital everything went well. It was a lot less traumatic than the last time when she had a very difficult birth, so it was a huge relief.
“It is nice to have an addition to the family, although it has left me a bit outnumbered with three girls in the house,” he joked.
“The days off are killing me because I have to do the night feeds but that is just one of those things.
“I will be saving as much energy as I can for the games that are left between now and the end of the season.”