Simon Murray determined to help Dundee banish century-long Scottish Cup drought

Simon Murray is determined to help boyhood club Dundee banish their century-long Scottish Cup drought.

The Dark Blues have won the old trophy only once in their history, back in 1910, while they have not reached the final since 2003.

After defeating city rivals Dundee United in the competition for the first time since 1956 on Monday, Dundee were handed a favourable last-16 tie at home to Championship strugglers Airdrie.

Having drawn against the big two of Celtic and Rangers in the league over the past fortnight, Murray – who scored the winner against the Tangerines – is adamant his side should have aspirations of cup glory.

“We want to get Dundee stability in the league, pushing top six every season – but winning a cup is the dream,” said the 32-year-old striker.

“I have dreamed about it all my life. It’s tough to win the league in this country so the cups are the main thing we can aim at.

“It has been a long time. Nobody has seen Dundee win the Scottish Cup so it would be an unbelievable achievement. It would be amazing.

“You see the talent we have, we have Seun (Adewumi), Lyall Cameron and loads of others.

“There is a real belief we can compete against any team at the moment so why not have a little cup run and give the fans something?”

Murray was pleased to land another home tie after going undefeated against the current top three in the William Hill Premiership in their last three matches at Dens Park.

“Airdrie will be a tough tie, no fixture is easy,” he said. “But any draw at home is positive because we have shown in recent times that we’re able to compete with anyone.

“Celtic, Rangers and United have all been here recently and we’ve played well against all three.

“So it’s back to the league stuff now but we’ve got that to look forward to when it comes around.”

Murray – who scored in a 1-0 victory for Hibernian against Hearts in October 2017 – was delighted to finally fulfil his dream of scoring the winner for his boyhood club in his hometown derby on Monday.

“It’s up there with anything in my career to be honest,” he said. “Scoring the winner in the derby, it’s right up there with my best experiences in football.

“It’s amazing, family and friends were here so it’s an amazing feeling.

“I had the same in the Edinburgh derby as well, so it’s good – you have to enjoy these nights when they come.

“I scored in the last derby but we ended up losing the game so that took the shine right off it.

“This time I tried to stay calm after scoring because it bit me on the a*** the last time, so I just wanted to keep going and I thought the boys were excellent.”