| Alex Rae pushed the disappointment of Scottish Cup elimination to one side today to concentrate on the big prize still open to his team — promotion (writes Tom Duthie).
As the dust settled on the 2-0 quarter-final defeat at Queen of the South, Alex was looking forward not back and relishing the chance to close the gap to leaders Hamilton to just two points again when Livingston visit Dens tomorrow night.
Accies are in action at Dunfermline 24 hours later, and then the top two meet for one of the games of the season so far at Douglas Park on Saturday.
“We wanted to win on Saturday and make the semis, but since I came here over 18 months ago now, the No. 1 priority has been to get the team back to the Premier League,” said Alex.
“That’s what we are concentrating on and tomorrow’s game is every bit as big as the cup-tie was.”
Back for the Dark Blues will be Mickael Antoine-Curier and Colin McMenamin, both of whom were ineligible against Queen of the South, as well as Kevin McDonald and Gary MacKenzie after their weekend suspensions.
That leaves long-term injury victim Scott Robertson sidelined, while Gavin Swankie will also miss out again with calf trouble.
“Swankie is making progress and we are working on him to make sure that, when he plays again, he is fully fit and not trying to nurse his leg through games,” added Alex.
Paul McHale will also drop out of the line-up as he completes a league ban.
Fans are reminded Saturday’s trip to Hamilton is all-ticket. |
