MacLean insists cup double as coach would eclipse 2014

STEVEN MacLEAN and his St Johnstone team-mates are held in legendary status for lifting the Scottish Cup in 2014.

But the former striker, who is now assistant manager to Callum Davidson, believes he and his former colleagues would be overlooked if the current crop at McDiarmid Park were to do the cup double this season.

Saints have already won the League Cup this campaign and they are now on the verge of a Scottish Cup final with a lastfour tie against St Mirren to come today. The victory over Dundee United in 2014 will always hold special memories for MacLean but the 38-yearold admits it would be as special to conquer the cup as a coach.

Speaking on Zoom with his cup final top and medal on show, MacLean said: “Trust me, winning as a coach is just as good as winning as a player. The only thing is as a player when you won, you didn’t think about the next game. As a coach, as soon as you win instantly you’re thinking about the next game. As a player you didn’t give a monkeys about the next game! Everybody is talking about a double and if it happens we’ll speak about it then, but we’ve got to take care of this game. It’s a massive game, so let’s not jump the gun.

“It’s a 50-50 game, whoever plays well on the day. Jim’s got his team going well and it will be tough.”

Asked if the cup winners of 2014 would be forgotten if Saints were to go all the way this time round, MacLean joked: “I hope so. I’d be buzzing with that. If the team was to do that, it would certainly eclipse 2014. They have a chance to make history. I know it’s boring but they need to concentrate on Sunday and everything else will take care of itself.”

As a former striker himself, MacLean has been mightily impressed with the form of St Johnstone’s strikers. Stevie May, Chris Kane and Guy Melamed have not only been finding the back of the net more regularly, but they have been defending from the front.

MacLean explained: “The manager doesn’t care about what the back three or the back five are doing defensively, it is a collective thing. If you want to