Dixon ready for medal after tough break
Final countdown for left-back hoping to redress the balance and pick up the silverware he missed out on
O-ONE involved in this weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-finals has better reason to understand the special nature of the opportunity they represent than Dundee United full-back Paul Dixon.
The 29-year-old has been here before, successfully back in 2010, however in spite of the club going on to win the final he still does not have a winner’s medal which, considering that he made 30 appearances for them that season, understandably rankles.
An injury suffered just before the final ruled him out of action and he remembers all too clearly the fruitless efforts he made in bidding to be available.
“It’s still quite raw, that,” he admitted. “It always will be. I tried to get back but in the grand scheme of things, I was absolutely nowhere near making the final.
“I was in oxygen tents for an hour a day but I was kidding myself. The bone hadn’t even started knitting together again. I was miles off being fit.
“I think as soon as I heard I’d broken my toe, I knew I was in trouble. I knew something bad had happened in the game. I thought I had broken my toe… went to A&E that night and they confirmed it. I think then was the realisation I was never going to make it.
“I told the gaffer I wanted to give myself a chance and then get a scan the week before, but the scan showed it hadn’t even started knitting together, so there was no way we were going to risk it.”
He makes the valid point that there is an oversight within the system that denied him a medal as he sat in a moon boot suffering mixed emotions during the final.
“It really hit me when I walked into the changing room afterwards. I knew I wasn’t part of actually winning it on the day,” said Dixon.
“I joined in the celebrations as part of the team and it was great for the players [but] I never got a medal and that was disappointing. I would have liked one. I played my part right up until the final. I played every round to get to the final.”
Dixon came close to enjoying the opposite experience when, after three years away, he returned last year to the club he has always supported just in time for their appearance in the League Cup final, but he has only a runners-up medal to show for it following their defeat by Celtic.
Either way, however, there is an unfairness about that which he reckons the SFA should consider redressing in the longer term.
“It’s maybe something the authorities should look at,” he said.
“It wasn’t just me who missed out. It was Darren Dods and Damian Casalinuovo too.
“In the league, if you play 10 games you get a winners’ medal but if you play right up to the final in a cup, you don’t, but it happened and I’d love to get back to another final to make up for missing the last.”
There is, though, a curious background to this cup campaign due to United’s Premiership plight.
While the knockout nature of cup ties normally represents something of a gear change at any stage in the season, there has been a cut-throat sense of do or die about every match they have played in over recent weeks, as Dixon acknowledges.
“This is a huge game for us but in the situation we are in right now, every game is massive,” he noted.
“It’s a chance to get to a final and not many players get that chance over their career. We will go for it, 100 per cent.
“It can be a relief to take a break from the league, especially if we get to the cup final. That could give us confidence and create some momentum ahead of the last five games of the season.”
A further oddity is the fact that their opponents are similarly struggling for form. Hibs’ slump – since they were contending for the Championship a couple of months ago only to now find themselves struggling to avoid finishing the league campaign in fourth place – having been exemplified by their loss of a two-goal lead at home in the dying stages against the 10 men of Falkirk in midweek.
Both teams’ presence in the cup semi-finals however offers evidence that they are capable of much better.
“It’s a bit unusual but it’s a one-off game to get into a showcase final at the end of the season,” Dixon observed.
“The form book goes out the window and it could make for a good end to the season.
“We are obviously wanting to go to Hampden and put on a performance.
“We’ve unfortunately had a few defeats going into the match but we are looking forward to it. It’s a one-off game and it’s a chance to get into a final. Finals don’t come around a great deal in your career. It’s something I want to get back to especially after missing out in 2010.”