Sheerin revels in Lichties’ cup success

“Queen of the South are a good side and they’ve obviously got a slight advantage being full-time, but we are playing well just now and will give it absolutely everything on the day.

“We’d probably rather have them at home, but we’ll be going there to win and hopefully as a group of players we can do ourselves proud.”

Although some would suggest the Lichties might be better forgetting their last visit to Dumfries, a 6-0 drubbing in the league on September 1, Sheerin believes his team can take some inspiration from their form since then.

“On that day they had the extra edge and they were obviously better on the day, but we’ve done reasonably well since then and haven’t lost a game,” he said.

“Hopefully that’s the mentality the players can now put in their mind and it will be a completely different game on Sunday.”

As a player, Sheerin enjoyed mixed fortunes in what was previously known as the Challenge Cup – having tasted both victory and defeat in the two finals he played in.

The 38-year-old suffered heartbreak with Inverness Caley Thistle in the 1999 final, ending up on the losing side as Alloa won the trophy on penalties following a 4-4 draw.

Eight years later, though, Sheerin scored the opening goal from the penalty spot as he helped St Johnstone lift the cup, courtesy of a 3-2 win over Dunfermline at Dens Park.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play in two Challenge Cup finals and it’s an excellent experience,” he added.

“The competition is talked down in the early rounds, which is a shame, but once you get to the business end and you get the opportunity to play in a semi-final and final, it’s great.

“Certainly for a club of our stature, it’s difficult to get to a League Cup final or a Scottish Cup final, so the Ramsdens Cup is the next big thing.”

He continued: “I think that’s as good as we’ve been Saturday past and I hope we can take that forward into the semi-final.

“I think we could be going there at the right time and although we’ve had changes in personnel and it takes a bit of time to gel, I think we’ve got a really good chance.”

Only keeper Darren Hill, who is still out with a broken arm, is expected to miss tomorrow’s semi-final.

Paul Sheerin says Arbroath have a great chance to get to the final.