Can Motherwell, Hearts or St Johnstone reach for Hampden glory?
League Cup starts to get interesting
Iceland, Norway, Denmark…..Brechin.
The glory trips for the Motherwell fans just keep on coming don’t they?
Two wins and a draw from four league matches is a fairly strong start from the Fir Park club and you would feel that Motherwell’s early season start has given their campaign a kick-start. With that in mind, you would expect the SPL side to triumph against their Second Division rivals.
The way the League Cup is set-up, you always fancy the chances of a team outside of Celtic or Rangers making the final and you would have to say that Motherwell are in with a shout of making it to Hampden. Then again, a lot of success in cup competition depends on luck and if you get it in your favour, you’re a good part of the way there.
In cup competitions, setting yourself up to avoid defeat can be a fairly strong tactic in cup competitions and as we’ve said before, Craig Brown knows all about organisation and getting his players to work hard for him.
Craig Brown is recognised as one of the highest rated Scottish managers but he hasn’t picked up any silverware, which is something that Jim Jefferies has on his CV.
The 1998 Scottish Cup triumph over Rangers at Celtic Park is probably the managerial career high of Jefferies but he has also reached the League Cup final in his time.
To get past the first hurdle, Jefferies will have to get the better of his former on-field right hand man Steven Pressley, still in charge of Falkirk after relegating them from the SPL.
Hearts have a number of players out injured for a reasonable length of time and it appears that Ian Black may be a doubt for the tie in Falkirk which may just give the 1st Division side an extra bit of confidence.
If there are to be any shocks tonight, it may well be it comes here as you would expect the Falkirk side to be massively up for this tie and could catch Hearts if the Gorgie side are not fully up for it.
Continuing the talk of the managers, St Johnstone boss Derek McInnes has given side a boost before tonights clash with Queen of the South by signing a new contract. McInnes has been linked with a few jobs down South and although the Perth fans have booed him in recent weeks, his contract signing should be good news for the Perth fans.
The game at McDiarmid Park features two sides who have reached the latter stages of cup competitions in recent years and you would say this tie could be up for grabs. Neither side have set the heather on fire this season so far…but tonight could be a turning point for the club that progresses to the next round.
St Johnstone got their first league win of the season at the weekend against St Mirren so the opportunity to follow it up with another triumph, before this weekends trip to Tannadice could be ideal for the Saints fans.
The League Cup is very much up for grabs this season, will the winner come from these games?
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