Danny Devine will forever be a Scottish Cup hero in the eyes of Inverness fans.
After Saturday’s semi-final win over Falkirk, the same opponents Caley Thistle defeated in that 2015 showpiece, Devine could well help the club repeat history.
The defender had a busy afternoon dealing with the Bairns’ strikers despite keeping a clean sheet at the weekend. A Billy McKay double and a header by Daniel Mackay sealed progression to this year’s final for the Highlanders.
The 30-year-old doesn’t want to compare the achievements, insisting they deserve to be recognised on their own merits.
He said: “Falkirk are quite a possession-based team and had quite a bit of the ball in the first half but we were clinical, had some great balls into the box and some great finishing so I’m absolutely delighted to get to another final.
“Falkirk have some good players and at times we had to throw our bodies on the line and defend. We did that and thankfully we kept the ball out of the net and it was a good victory in the end.
“Any final you reach is a massive achievement. We are down a division now and I don’t think anyone saw it coming mid-season, but cup runs are always a bonus, and we are absolutely delighted.
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“You try and treat it as if it’s just another game but it’s in the back of your mind that it’s not. As much as you try to put the nerves to the back of your head it can creep up. I’ve said to the young guys before we’re here if they want to pick our brains on what happened the last time and hopefully, it gives those boys confidence.
“Against Falkirk the pressure was all on us. We’re the higher division team and Falkirk fancied their chances. But we handled it brilliantly and to see the game out 3-0 was massive.”
While a game against either Rangers or Celtic will be a daunting task, Inverness will need to keep the heed as they battle it out on the promotion play-off front too.
Devine is keen for him and his teammates to keep a cool head throughout what is set to be a massive month for the club.
“It’s going to be tough,” he added. “But we did it in the last round when we beat Kilmarnock and went on an amazing run in the league. We switched off and turned our attention to the league. Now we need to do that again going into next week. The final is a month away so there’s plenty of time to prepare for it.
“We will hopefully have to deal with the play-offs first then we can turn our attention to that.”
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