| That night remains a painful memory, but Houstie is convinced it was a one-off and, whatever the outcome of this quarter-final, there will be fewer goals.
To reach the semis, the Tangerines will have to do what no other Scottish side has done since November.
That’s the last time the runaway league leaders and Co-Op Cup finalists lost a domestic fixture — 1-0 at Aberdeen — and the United gaffer sees that stat as the measure of a very good side.
“We know how hard Sunday is going to be, because we are up against a team who have been playing very well in most of their games and, even when they haven’t, they don’t give away goals,” he said.
“They’re flying in the league and it is never easy at Ibrox, so we know how hard it will be, but I don’t think what happened before is going to have an affect on the players.
“I don’t want to tempt fate, but that was a freak result and I do not see that happening to this team again.
“There were a few factors. I think the whole club was a bit down after Craig (Levein) left for Scotland and we just had a very bad night.
“The players have responded magnificently since and, hard as this tie is for us, I have complete confidence they can go through on Sunday and give a good account of themselves.”
Striker Francisco Sandaza, meanwhile, might not feature in the Sunday lunchtime tie.
United are being very cautious about his recovery from the double hernia that delayed his first appearance of the season until the final few minutes of Sunday’s win over Hearts.
He has been suffering from tight hamstrings and that’s seen him spend most of this week doing light work under the supervision of the physio.
“It’s not unusual when you’ve been out for as long as he has for this to happen and we are taking things very carefully with him,” added Houstie.
“It’s not a big issue, because he is still a good bit away from being fit enough to be considered for a starting place.” |
