Caley Thistle manager Billy Dodds wants his players to believe they can follow the class of 2015 and go all the way in this season’s Scottish Cup.
The Championship side are second-favourites in their quarter-final at home to Premiership Kilmarnock on Friday night, in a game which is live on BBC Scotland.
However, Killie are second-bottom of the top-flight, while ICT are sixth in their division, therefore the gulf is not huge.
And the Highlanders took nine points from the Ayrshire team last term in the Championship, although Derek McInnes led his men to title glory.
Inverness lifted the Scottish Cup eight years ago under John Hughes and images of the celebrations from their Hampden final win over Falkirk cover many walls within the Caledonian Stadium.
Photos should inspire current team
Dodds, who won the cup as a Rangers player in 2000, would love to see ICT move one step closer by beating Kilmarnock.
He said: “This club has got a recent record of a Scottish Cup win.
“We just have to look at the walls in our club, and if our players want to be inspired and do something in their career that people will remember, they only have to go 40 steps (from where Dodds was speaking inside the stadium).
“I want them to realise the opportunity we’ve got here.
“I can’t lose focus, and my players are the same. I want them to realise they’ve got a massive opportunity and embrace it.”
Semi draw opens up cup possibilities
The other last-eight ties are Hearts v Celtic, Rangers v Raith Rovers, and Falkirk v Ayr United.
And Dodds is eyeing the winner of the latter, League One v Championship tie as the semi-final he’d be after should his team get past Killie and into Monday’s draw.
He said: “I would love to get to a semi-final, because you’ve got a great chance of getting a favourable draw.
“If you get the winner of Falkirk and Ayr, you could still go out, but it’s a fabulous chance to get to the final.
Your Quarter-Final draws for the Men's and Women's Scottish Cup.
🗓 Men's Scottish Cup ties will take place over the weekend of Saturday, 11 March.
🗓 Women's Scottish Cup ties will take place over the weekend of Sunday, 19 March.#ScottishCup
— Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) February 13, 2023
“That’s getting ahead of myself, we’ve got to put all our efforts into Kilmarnock.”
Strong record against Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock have not won away from Rugby Park in the Premiership all season.
However, they have posted cup wins on the road against Hearts and Dundee United.
Dodds is taking nothing for granted, but is confident his men are in with a fighting chance.
He added: “We’ve got to respect Kilmarnock, but not fear them.
“They’re a Premiership team, and they know how to get results despite where they are in the table.
“Derek is a really good manager, but we showed last year in the Championship that when we’re on it, we can give them a really good game.
⏪ Throwback – December 2021
Sean Welsh's fantastic strike against Kilmarnock last season which gave us a 1-0 win.
We meet Kilmarnock again in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final this Friday!
Get tickets in advance from https://t.co/6z5nBMnHgc – buy in advance to save money! pic.twitter.com/SU8ONJgpvr
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) March 7, 2023
“Their away ties at Hearts and Dundee United show that this will be a tough cup tie, and who wants it most will win.
“Derek will have his team organised, they will be a threat at set-plays, but if we match their endeavour we’ll be in with a chance.”
Armstrong ‘real threat’ for Killie
One Kilmarnock player flying right now is former Ross County starlet Danny Armstrong, with nine goals to his name this season.
The 25-year-old attacker has shown real quality for McInnes this season and Dodds insists he’s one of their main danger-men, but not their only one.
He said: “He’s definitely a talented lad, and a real threat.
“He’s technically really good at set-pieces, but Kilmarnock have got more than just him.
“We need an all-round team effort, and everyone to be on their ‘A’ game to stop those technical players playing.
“Then we have to make sure we do our bit going forward, because we’ve got plenty of threats in our team.”
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