Discovering the way to win a semi-final will help St Johnstone in their attempt to do it again, according to David Wotherspoon.
The team which faces Hibs in the League Cup last four clash tomorrow will include plenty of survivors from the one that defeated Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup less than two years ago.
With the history of the Perth club’s many semi-final failures a burden back in 2014, one of those losses against the Dons a couple of months earlier, back then they had to work at convincing themselves to believe.
There will be no need to convince themselves this time around. They now know they can do it.
Wotherspoon said: “The second one we had that belief about us we could go on and get the win and we showed that in the second half.
“We’ve proved we can get over that hurdle now, and we can beat any team on our day.
“You have to believe you can get to the final and that’s what we will be thinking this weekend.
“It would be a massive achievement to win another cup. We are more than capable of doing it.
“It would be huge for the club and for Perth.
“The club has always had decent cup runs, even from before I was here, getting to semis and finals. It was about getting over the line by winning a cup.
“We’ve done that now and hopefully we can win more.
“It was a dream come true for me. Going out in Perth and seeing all the faces and the streets flooded with people was a fantastic feeling.
“That’s what we want to achieve again.”
He added: “It was just what I wanted to happen, you couldn’t have written it any better for me.
“The two finals I missed out on (with Hibs) were massive matches in my career. I was very thankful to make the final that we won. It was such a great day.”
As an ex-Hibs man, Wotherspoon knows that the Easter Road players will have to deal with the great expectations of their fans.
“Hibs have made several semi-finals and finals,” he said. “They will be looking to get past that hurdle as well.
“I suppose there is maybe a bit more pressure on Hibs to win a cup, seeing as they haven’t done it in a while.
“I felt there was pressure there. Hibs fans want their club to do well and that means winning silverware.
“It’s unfortunate they haven’t managed to do it these last few years.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a burden. You need to go out and try to do their best. The boys there now will be thinking the same.
“But it’s more about us, we want to go out and win the game.”
Hibs may be a former club of Wotherspoon’s but they’ll be treated the same as any other opponent.
“It’s not particularly special because it’s Hibs,” he said. “It’s a semi-final.
“We are obviously out of the Scottish so this is our chance to win silverware.
“I still have a couple of pals who are there though. I speak to Lewis Stevenson and Paul Hanlon every so often. It’s been quiet this week mind you!
“They have been building a lot this year and have a good squad. They are in a good position in the league.
“But it’s all about us at the weekend.
“It’s a one-off cup game and you need to beat the side that’s in front of you.”
And Wotherspoon doesn’t believe staging the game in Edinburgh will be an advantage to Alan Stubbs’s side.
“Not at all,” he said. “They will have three stands and more supporters there so there will be more pressure on them throughout the game.
“I am sure our supporters will be in good voice.
“It will be a cracking game.”