Former Caley Thistle midfielder Barry Wilson has urged his old side to make sure it has no regrets come the end of tomorrow’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic.
Inverness are searching for their first major silverware in their 21-year history but Celtic are favourites to reach their second final of the campaign and move a step closer to winning the domestic treble in manager Ronny Deila’s first season.
Wilson was part of the last Inverness team to play at Hampden, drawing 1-1 against Dunfermline in a Scottish Cup semi-final in 2004 before going on to lose the replay 3-2 at Pittodrie.
That came just 12 months after Caley Jags lost 1-0 against Dundee at the same stage of the competition, only months prior to Wilson’s return to Caledonian Stadium from Livingston.
Wilson rues his former club not taking advantage of the opportunities which fell its way in past semi-finals, and with Inverness third in the Scottish Premiership, Wilson says they have earned the right to believe they can be a match for the Hoops tomorrow.
The 43-year-old said: “It was a great chance – looking back now we had two semi-finals in two years, with Dundee in 2003 and Dunfermline the year after.
“Without being disrespectful to those teams, you don’t get them often in a semi-final. It’s normally Celtic or Rangers.
“Looking at the odds, Caley Thistle are 6-1, and I think that’s a fair reflection as there are only two places between the teams in the league.
“They’re underdogs, but not massive underdogs. Barring Hibs and Falkirk supporters, it’s the game most people would have wanted as the final, so it’s disappointing it won’t be.
“If they do manage it, they’ve got a Championship team in the final. The prize is there for them if they can manage it.”
Wilson has mixed memories of facing Celtic in the Scottish Cup with Caley Thistle.
The former midfielder was part of the then First Division side that famously defeated the Hoops 3-1 at Parkhead in 2000, during his first spell with the club.
However, in his second stint with the Highlanders he lost 2-1 against the Glasgow outfit in 2007, in a match he describes as the most agonising of his career.
The former Wick Academy and Elgin City manager said: “We played Celtic in the quarter-final and were 1-0 up with three minutes to go and ended up losing 2-1.
“That game itself was probably the biggest disappointment in my career – solely because the semi-final would have been against St Johnstone.
“At the time we were going well, we were a good side.
“We dominated Celtic and were a goal up through Graham Bayne.
“All of a sudden, they caught us in the last three minutes with a great bit of play from Kenny Miller, then they won it with a Steven Pressley header at the back post.
“That was a sickener. I remember Charlie Christie took me off with five minutes to go and remember thinking ‘I hope you’ve not done something stupid there, Charlie.’ He was obviously trying to time waste.
“That was the biggest disappointment, because that was the team I played in that I felt could have really gone somewhere.”