This final is so huge even Ian Durrant has butterflies in his stomach
THERE’S no top-flight football to compete with for attention, the BBC ALBA cameras are ready to show the action live, his part-time outfit have already sold more than 2,000 tickets for the occasion... what’s not to like for Dumbarton boss Stephen Aitken ahead of today’s Irn-Bru Cup final against Inverness?
In a tournament often derided for a perceived lack of glamour, its importance to teams like the Sons can never be so easily dismissed.
‘This club have gone over 120 years since a Scottish Cup final appearance, they’ve never even been in a League Cup final, and this is our first one in this competition,’ said Aitken ahead of this afternoon’s showpiece at McDiarmid Park.
‘Keeping the club in the Championship has been terrific, but this is something that’s got the team and the town united, with over 2,000 tickets sold by Friday morning.
‘As a manager, it’s huge for me. I could be a manager for another 20 years and not get to another final.’
Compared to his assistant Ian Durrant, Aitken had a modest playing career with the likes of Morton, Stranraer and Stenhousemuir, but the 41-year-old revealed that even the Ibrox legend has been caught up in the excitement currently gripping Sons fans and players.
‘Ian is excited and is telling me he has butterflies,’ said Aitken. ‘When you consider the games he’s been involved in over the years, it shows how big it is for us.
‘He played in Europe and won nine titles in a row with Rangers. It’s good to have his experience around to help our players.’
Whatever happens today, Aitken has already taken the club further than any previous Dumbarton boss in the Challenge Cup since its launch in 1990.
‘We had the worst record of any club in this competition and had only won five ties in 27 years,’ he said. ‘This season, every round was a potential pitfall but we came up trumps.
‘In the first round, the Rangers Under-20s side had five players with first-team experience. Connah’s Quay Nomads came up here from Wales and took the lead — then started time-wasting before half-time. My former club Stranraer were up next and it was my first game against my former assistant Stephen Farrell, but we managed a 2-1 win before facing Raith Rovers, who are a full-time side.
‘We then had to travel to Wales to take on a side with European experience in The New Saints, but we came through that, as well.’
Aitken’s main task might be seen as keeping Dumbarton punching above their weight in the Championship for another season. Currently occupying the relegation play-off spot, just four points behind today’s opponents, he won’t hear any talk about trading a cup win for league survival.
‘The league’s always your priority but we’re going to Perth to win — and we can win,’ he insisted.
‘Inverness are favourites and have some of the best players in the league with Iain Vigurs, Liam Polworth, Carl Tremarco and Gary Warren. But we’re not there to make up the numbers. We’ll go out and look to attack them.’
As befits a part-time boss, Aitken doesn’t have his troubles to seek. Two players, Dimitris Froxylias and Liam Burt, will fly in to Edinburgh Airport this morning after international duty with Cyprus and Scotland Under-21s, respectively. Liam Dick, Aidan Wilson, Andy Stirling and Kevin Nisbet are all cup-tied and miss out, while on-loan Celtic defender Sam Wardrop has failed to recover in time from an ankle injury.
Aitken’s opposite number has been here before, of course. John Robertson’s first spell in charge of Caley Thistle saw them win the Challenge Cup on their way to an historic promotion to the top flight in 2003-04.
After the club’s recent decline, including a disastrous relegation under the stewardship of Richie Foran from which they have yet to recover, the former Hearts striker feels like a man starting the journey all over again.
In his eyes, success in today’s final would be the first stepping stone towards reigniting support for a club who won the Scottish Cup just three years ago.
‘We don’t have the resources of Hearts, Hibs, Rangers or Dundee United, who went down but could still call on big fanbases,’ said Robertson. ‘A lot of our crowd have lost interest. We’re not getting the walk-up fans any more.
‘All we have now is the hardcore support, but we have new fans and young fans who will be going to a match for the first time.
‘Hopefully, they will see a wee bit of success and want to continue supporting the club. And maybe some of the ones who have drifted away might also come back.’
While Championship sides have sought emergency loan signings from the Old Firm or England, Robertson recently found himself calling local secondary schools to make up the numbers.
Players like Daniel Mackay and Jack Brown need their head teacher’s permission to skip classes for midweek matches.
‘Daniel, who is just 16, will play some part. He is still at school in Inverness and is an Inverness fan,’ said Robertson. ‘He’s a seasonticket holder. So for him to be involved in a cup final is brilliant.’