Queen’s Park boss Callum Davidson has the taste for another upset

Queen’s Park manager Callum Davidson is allowing himself to dream as he prepares to pull off another major Scottish Cup shock.

Davidson has earned the right to aim big after guiding St Johnstone to a cup double in 2020-21, trebling their major trophy count in the one season.

The former Scotland international then led the Spiders to their best Scottish Cup win since clinching a 10th success in the competition in 1893, when they beat Rangers 1-0 at Ibrox in the fifth round.

He now has the chance to continue his love affair with the tournament when Queen’s Park visit Aberdeen in Saturday’s quarter-final tie.

“It’s a really special run for Queen’s Park,” he said. “Sometimes you like to believe, don’t you? You like to dream. You do think about it. I’d be lying if you’d say you don’t think about these things. That’s why you’re in the game.

“We’ve knocked one of the favourites out, now we’re playing another one of the favourites.

“So it’s really important that, can we do something? Can we do something special? That’s why you play the game. That’s why you play sport. You don’t play sport just to accept things. You play sport to try and achieve things. And we’ll try and do that on Saturday.

“Obviously we (St Johnstone) managed to do it three or four years ago by beating Rangers in the quarter-finals. So we managed to beat them again.

“So little things, you say superstitions, little things. Hibs are still in it as well, we played them as well. So I do think of wee things like that. We play Livingston in the final of the SPFL Trust Trophy soon. We played them in the League Cup final four years ago as well. So wee things there.

“I plotted all that out! Not that I don’t dream or anything like that.

“But you know what? It comes down to the game. We’ve just got to make sure we perform. If we don’t perform well, we don’t win. I accept that.

“But I just want the boys to be brave and have a go.”

Davidson will also look to tap into the emotions the players experienced after securing victory at Ibrox.

“As a football player, coach, manager, supporter, that’s why you play. It’s that euphoria, that kind of elation of achieving something in the game. It’s a great feeling.

“I said to the players, you want that feeling a lot and we’ve got a chance to do it on Saturday.

“So that’s what you’ve got to try and aim for. You’ve got to remember how it feels after winning that game.

“You’ve got to try and replicate it and that comes from that hard work and that desire.”