David Carson reckons last year’s run to the Scottish Cup final has given everyone at Caley Thistle a thirst for returning to Hampden.
The 28-year-old defender/midfielder was thrilled to be part of an Inverness side wo knocked out Premiership sides Livingston 3-0 and Kilmarnock 2-1, before then defeating League One Falkirk 3-0 in the semi-final at the national stadium.
They were back in Glasgow in June for the final, where they put up a decent show against treble-winning Celtic in a 3-1 defeat.
In this term’s Scottish Cup, after edging past Cowdenbeath 2-0 in November, they host another Lowland League side, Broomhill, this Saturday.
The draw for the @scottishgas Men's Scottish Cup Fifth Round will take place live on Sunday's @BBCSportScot Sportscene programme.
You can watch live on @BBCScotland or @BBCiPlayer, with the draw beginning at 8.15pm.#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/1VcSvkk8iu
— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) January 17, 2024
Carson keen to take on country’s best
Carson wants to mix it with the best in the country once more and hopes they can avoid being on the wrong end of a big shock and then potentially land a plum tie in Sunday’s last-16 draw.
He said: “Having reached the final last year, we played a few Premiership sides, Livingston, Kilmarnock and Celtic.
“We want to test ourselves against the Premiership sides, but we must get through the fourth round – and then let’s see what the draw brings if we get there.
“There’s not been too much talk about reaching the final, but everyone thinks back to those moments and the final day, which unfortunately didn’t go our way.
“It was still a great day for the club to be part of.
“It was probably the best day of my career – although you want to win it when you get there.
“You can learn from it and take on in your career.
“Hopefully, I can use the Scottish Cup games as a platform to understand what needs to be done to progress in the cup. I can maybe use that experience and pass it on to younger boys, for sure.
“I still look back at how we reached the final. It wasn’t easy at times, but we won’t look beyond Saturday.”
Moving the ball quickly key for ICT
Carson, who moved to Inverness in 2019 from Morpeth Town, should add to his 21 appearances this term when Broomhill visit.
And the right-sided star believes getting the early breakthrough might well wreck their non-league opponents’ game-plan.
He added: He said: “It would be nice to reach the Scottish Cup final again, but Broomhill will give it a right good go here on Saturday. It’s a good opportunity for them.
“We respect that, but we will have to put on a professional job to make sure we get into the hat for the next round.
“Broomhill want to cause an upset and we don’t want to let that happen.
“It’s up to us to ensure we do everything right and put on a really good show to get through.
“They might come with a plan to try and frustrate us. We will have to move the ball quickly and hopefully an early goal will settle us down, and they will have to open up.
“We might have to be patient and, when our chances come, we have to put them in the back of the net.”
Carson confident goals will soon flow for Inverness
Attacker David Wotherspoon’s short-term deal with Inverness ended this month, with four goals from his 11 ICT appearances.
The three-time national cup-winner with St Johnstone has now joined another Championship side in title-hopefuls Dundee United.
Carson is sure there are still enough fine finishers, led by record scorer Billy Mckay, in the Caley Jags ranks to give them the edge in games going forward.
He said: “David did well for us, and he’s moved on and we wish him all the best.
“We must have players stepping up and scoring goals – Morgan (Boyes) scored twice recently against Ayr, while Billy Mckay can score goals and we have Austin Samuels still to come back (from injury).
“We have many players who can chip in with goals and we need to do that to take us forward.”
Conversation