| The man who will be lining up in the final for a second season running when he faces old club Inverness Caley Thistle at McDiarmid Park on Sunday, believes only good will come out of a Dundee win.
“I’ve heard people say a few times the team that wins this cup doesn’t go up, but I won it with Inverness and we went on and got promoted the same season,” said Hart, who finished a runner-up to Airdrie with Ross County last term.
“I think it might have happened a few times and, strangely enough, teams who then get relegated have won it as well.
“In the last couple of seasons, a lot of the clubs involved in the final have been up challenging or down fighting relegation, so this season I’d like to think, if we can win it, we can also go on and win the league.”
Looking specifically at Sunday’s game, he admits facing his former employers will be special and is predicting an enthralling 90 minutes.
“Inverness have been a bit up and down and they’ve struggled at home, but their away form has been decent and they have got players who can hurt us.
“They are a good side with a good manager, and a lot of my ex team-mates are still there, so I know it will be tough for us.
“The 2-2 draw at Dens at the beginning of the season showed that. It was not great for us, because we dropped points, but for the spectators it was a great game and it should be good again on Sunday.”
Not that Hart has told any of his old mates from the Highland capital that, and he admits the banter has started already.
“I speak to big Ross Tokely, Stuart Golabek and Grant Munro almost every day, and it is going to be great coming up against them,” he added.
“They want to win this and then get back up to the SPL. I am in the same boat, so there has been a bit of chat between us and that’ll continue. I still have a soft spot for Inverness, because I’ve lived up there all my life and I had a great time at both Inverness and Ross County, but Inverness especially.
“To get to where I got to with them, surpassed all my ambitions and I never thought we’d reach where we did. Having been there with them, that’s where I want to get back to with Dundee.”
Midfielder Brian Kerr, meanwhile, was rejoining squad training this morning as he continued to step up his work after an ankle knock.
Striker Leigh Griffiths is still feeling a kick he took while on Scotland duty at the weekend, though the biggest concern today was staying dry in the torrential rain. |
