Billy Dodds insists Caley Thistle reaching this season’s Scottish Cup final would be the stuff of dreams after they were knocked out by Queen’s Park in January.
The Inverness head coach will lead his Championship side against League One opponents Falkirk in Saturday’s semi-final at Hampden.
Caley Thistle lost 2-0 to Queen’s Park in the fourth round, but were given a re-entry by the SFA after the Spiders were expelled for fielding an ineligible player in the tie at the Caledonian Stadium.
Inverness, who beat Stirling Albion 3-2 in round three, made the most of their second chance in the cup.
They defeated Premiership hosts Livingston 3-0 and then came from a goal down to defeat top-flight visitors Kilmarnock 2-1.
Caley Thistle go into the semi on a high, having won six and drawn once in a stunning surge to third in the Championship, which means a victory over Ayr United next Friday will take them into the promotion play-offs for a second year running.
Dodds explained the thrill of his side’s late-season revival to be fighting on two fronts.
He said: “It would be a fairytale (to reach the cup final) and it’s happened in the league that people thought we were out of it, and we’ve gone on this run.
“We are team that is capable of great things. When we are at our best, we will give most teams a game. That’s the frame of mind I hope my team are in.”
Dodds swatted aside suggestions ICT are lucky to be in the running for a place in the final for the right to face Celtic or Rangers.
He said: “We don’t think we are lucky to be here.
🚗 @ICTFC's Road to Hampden…
Ahead of this weekend's Semi-Final at Hampden Park, take a look back at Inverness Caledonian Thistle's Scottish Cup journey this season.#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/mNBoA1Rszy
— Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) April 26, 2023
“We have grafted and that’s what fairytales are made of, and we hope to continue it.
‘We deserve to be here. People have forgotten it was such a close game against Queens Park. We made two mistakes in the last 10 minutes. We practically handed Queens Park the tie, but it was a hard-fought affair.
“Then we got the reprieve, but we’ve had to knock out two Premiership clubs to get here, so there’s no doubt in my mind we deserve to be here.
“We’ve grasped the chance of being back in the competition, so let’s keep it going. That’s what I’ve said to my players.”
Falkirk fans make tie a ‘leveller’
Falkirk, who have beaten Wick Academy, Alloa Athletic, Darvel and Ayr United, to reach the last four are second-favourites to win the semi-final.
The Bairns, who lost to Inverness in the 2015 Scottish Cup final, are the underdogs by virtue of playing one division below the Highlanders.
However, Dodds isn’t reading too much into it, with Falkirk likely to have more than 8,000 fans there, double the number who will be backing ICT in the 12.15pm kick-off, which is live on BBC Scotland.
He added: “I wouldn’t say we are big favourites. Yes, we are in the league above, but Falkirk will have a bigger crowd than us and that can be a leveller.
“I don’t look at us and say we are huge favourites. We have a great opportunity and Falkirk will be saying the same.
“I’ve heard (Falkirk manager) John (McGlynn) talking about it already. There are no favourites in this game. It’s not like the Old Firm are playing a club from League Two.
“It’s going to be tight and a nervous affair. We need to make sure we handle the occasion and if we do we have a great chance.”
Dodds ‘wary’ of VAR’s intervention
Saturday’s semi-final will be the first match Falkirk and ICT, as lower league teams, will have been involved in using video assistant referee technology, or VAR.
The technology has caused plenty of debates over key decisions going against players and clubs in the Premiership and both sides have been briefed about it ahead of the weekend.
Dodds admits there is a sense of anxiety about how it might impact the game – but he hopes VAR does not play a vital role.
He said: ‘We’re wary of it, let’s just say that.
“It was good of (SFA head of referees) Crawford Allan to explain how it will work because it is new to us.
“I worry about it after some of the things I have seen this season. I just hope we can avoid having to use it too much and just go and win the game. That’s what I’m looking for. Hopefully VAR doesn’t have a big impact on the game.
“As a former player and a manager, you can’t help but worry about it sometimes. Let’s just hope it runs nice and smoothly.”
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