THIS CUP IS STILL ABLE TO CAST ITS MAGIC SPELL

While English version withers, Scots tournament still sparkles

COME Wembley on May 19, she will look resplendent once again. Pristine, polished and garlanded with ribbons, the FA Cup still has the capacity to stop people in their tracks from time to time.

That one Saturday night a year aside, though, the allure is now somewhat diminished.

Like an old Hollywood star whose best days are behind them, the struggle for relevance in an ever-changing world grows harder each year.

If, in one sense, the demise of a truly historic competition is simply an inevitable by-product of the saturation of football on TV, then there is no disputing the fact that clubs repeatedly fielding weakened teams has fostered the public’s growing sense of indifference towards it.

This is one area when the Scottish game can look in the shaving mirror and feel no need to reproach itself.

From Dumfries to Fraserburgh (pending a pitch inspection) this weekend, full throttle will be engaged by each and every side. Each will believe this can be their year.

‘The Scottish Cup is a trophy that we want to win,’ said Rangers winger Jamie Murphy.

‘Down south, it’s not as big a thing. Staying in the Premier League or winning promotion is more important.’

You wonder what Ricky Villa, Alan Sunderland or the countless others whose careers were defined by moments under the old Twin Towers would make of it all now. Not a great deal, you’d imagine.

What we do know is that there’s no going back to the days when glory mattered much more than the green folding stuff on the other side of Hadrian’s Wall.

Part of the Brighton team which lost to lowly Lincoln City last season, Murphy succinctly summed up the reduced relevance of the competition south of the Border in this era.

‘It was seen as a shock but, in the end, it didn’t matter,’ he added. ‘That wasn’t the aim of the season.

‘It wasn’t about the FA Cup — it was about getting to the Premier League.

‘I was a sub that day. The manager changed the whole team and I came on for the last 10 minutes.

‘It wasn’t an enjoyable game to watch or play in and that’s what teams can do.

‘That competition was put on the back burner a bit.

‘With Rangers, there will be more of an edge in the cup and that’s preferable as a player.

‘We want to win this competition. That’s the aim and we want to win this game and move on.’

It’s all a question of priorities. And, in the interests of balance, it must be said that not every English club has entirely lost sight of theirs. Murphy’s run to the semi-finals of the competition four years ago with Sheffield United is a case in point. Then a League One side, the pain felt at so narrowly missing out on the big day was all too real. ‘I have had a good couple of runs with Sheffield United,’ he recalled. ‘We got to the semifinals against Hull at Wembley and we should have won. ‘We lost 5-3, but we were winning a couple of times. In the second half, it got away. On that run, we beat Aston Villa and Fulham when they were in the Premier League.

‘We beat Charlton, too, who were in the Championship. That just shows what an underdog can do.

‘The cup was massive for Sheffield United and it will be the same for Fraserburgh.

‘They’ll have been looking forward to this game for a long time.

‘Underdogs always have a chance in the cup, so you never know.

‘Back then, nobody expected us to get to the semi-final, but we did.’

Today’s 12pm pitch inspection at Bellslea Park is worryingly familiar. Nine years ago, Motherwell’s tie with another Highland League outfit in Inverurie Locos bit the dust three times before Murphy’s