I’d like a Butcher’s at the next round
BRIAN McNAUGHTON still shudders at the skelp Terry Butcher gave him on a night cup dreams were almost realised against mighty Rangers.
More than three decades on, the Broxburn manager has told his Scottish Cup shock troops now is their moment to show some mettle.
The former striker was on the Bayview pitch in August 1986 when an East Fife team that cost only £20,000 held the Ibrox giants 0-0 to force a shootout in the League Cup.
St Mirren suffered one of the most humiliating cup defeats in their history that very night as Forfar thrashed them 5-1.
Broxburn’s tradesmen have been handed a shot to embarrass Saints again in tomorrow’s fourth round, the sort of upset McNaughton almost snatched as a player.
The 56-year-old, who has worked for the post office for almost 40 years, said: “Graeme Souness took over at Rangers and we got them in the third round of the League Cup.
“Ted McMinn played, Davie Cooper, Ally McCoist, Chris Woods was in goals. They beat us on penalties and went on to win the cup. I was a centre
BY ALAN ROBERTSON forward so my job was to stop Butcher spreading the ball about. The story I always tell is the ball getting played up to me within the first 10 minutes, I’m trying to back into Butcher and he’s skelped me.
“It was an absolute whack and I thought, ‘Oh you f***er.’
“Another time the ball was coming up, I stood back on his foot and he just jumped. I was on his feet and it is the highest I’ve ever jumped in my life.”
Despite dubbing himself a
“nutcase when I was 32” after a career that included stints at Hearts, East Fife and Arbroath, McNaughton added: “I will be the calmest person at St Mirren.”
After all, this Cup run will be remembered long after Paisley given grandson Rudy was born on the eve of the third-round win over Inverurie.
He has seen minnows skelped before – Bonnyrigg Rose were routed 8-1 by Hibs in 2017 – so won’t argue with odds of 28-1 on an Athletic win. But he said: “The players will be getting reminded about how brave they need to be.
“You have to remember this is tier six – we’re the lowestranked team left in the competition – versus tier one.
“I just hope the boys put on a performance. They all talk about the Premiership in Scotland, how ugly it is.
“The guys you’re slating on a Saturday that aren’t very good players in Scottish football, go and show what you can do against them.”
Buddies boss Jim Goodwin would have no reservations about pitching in new boys Jamie McGrath, Akin Famewo and Conor McCarthy.
And he’s also prepared to wield the axe before the break if he feels any player is not on it because they’re facing lower-level opposition.
He said: “I don’t want to do it but it’s important they know we won’t accept anything below the standards expected.”