Tony Docherty challenges Dundee to make MORE Scottish Cup history against Hearts.

Docherty thinks his team is closing in on something very extraordinary.

Tony Docherty’s Dundee side broke their Dundee United jinx, and now he wants them to break their Hampden curse. The Dark Blues travel to Tynecastle tomorrow night hoping to reach their first Scottish Cup semi-final since 2006, when they lost to Gretna. Dundee defeated United in a cup derby for the first time in 69 years in the fourth round, and Docherty now wants his team to defeat Hearts and earn a long-awaited return to the national stadium for a last-four battle. “There’s a lot of excitement for this one,” Docherty maintained. “We stated that we want to improve as a club, and last season we did not get to this stage of the cup. We’ve made that progress this year and I said at the start of this season we want to get as far as we can in both cups. We got knocked out by Rangers in the League Cup, who were eventually finalists. And now we’re at the quarter-final stage of the Scottish Cup.

“I only recently discovered that the club hasn’t reached a Scottish Cup semi-final since 2006. That’s 19 years. In the previous round, we had not defeated Dundee United in the Scottish Cup in 69 years. So there are strong omens there, and this group of guys now has a fantastic opportunity to capitalise.” Dundee too travels to the capital with something to prove. The Jambos defeated them 6-0 in the league last month, a result that remains a source of contention for the club. Docherty admits, “Of course.” Nobody at the football club performed well that day. There’s some redemption in showing that we’re a good squad with talented guys. On that day, for whatever reason, we didn’t represent ourselves well. There is motivation in that.

“We use every bit of motivation we can because the prize at the end of it, a first Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden since 2006 is huge motivation for us.” Hearts will be reeling from their derby defeat, but Docherty believes Neil Critchley has done an excellent job in Gorgie. He said, “Neil has done well.” This is demonstrated by their current winning streak of six out of eight games. I believe he has done well, and Hearts have fantastic players; their group is exceptional. They have done an excellent job recruiting. “With the new players and management gelling, we are starting to see a level of play emerge at Hearts. It is our responsibility to keep that at bay and show what positive players we have at the football club.”

Dundee will be missing the suspended Lyall Cameron, but Docherty is well aware that leading scorer Simon Murray will pose a significant threat to his team. Docherty confirmed: “It’s unfortunate that Lyall has been suspended. But it’s an opportunity for someone else. The players are all quite excited. A lot of teams would want to be in our position; many teams are not playing this weekend, but we have a chance to advance to the semi-final. “When you have a player like Simon Murray on your squad, who has 17 goals and is having a fantastic season, you have the opportunity to win games. Now with the entrance of Joe Shaughnessy he has had a real positive effect on our defensive performances.”

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