Our attempts to make the quarter-finals in the last few years have resembled Tim Henman's efforts at Wimbledon or Spain's attempts to make the last four of an international tournament. Tomorrow will determine whether this cup campaign will end in Tiger Tim style glorious failure or a chance at Spain style glory.
Our record against Rangers in cup competitions is, to put it bluntly, abysmal. We have beaten them just once - in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup in 1926, when we went on to beat Celtic in the final. Sure, there have been wins in League Cup sections, but those groups have usually ended with us exiting the competition. One win in numerous cup meetings is a terrible record and there's no better time than tomorrow to improve it. We have, after all, beaten them once this season, and the other two games against them have been pretty tight.
Most of the Saints team will pick itself. Andy Dorman will hopefully shrug off the unwelcome transfer interest in his services to produce another magical midfield display against a club who are supposedly interested in acquiring him in the summer. Hugh Murray - the only member of the squad who played for us at Hampden in 2001 - will be there alongside him, as will Steven Thomson. Jack Ross, Mark Howard, Mo Camara, Scott Cuthbert and Craig Dargo - who scored against us at the national stadium for Kilmarnock in 2001 - are also certain to start.
That leaves three slots up for grabs - in defence, midfield and up front. Normally, the return of your captain from suspension would see him go straight back into the team, but Will Haining was excellent in John Potter's place last week and must have a shot at keeping his place. In midfield, manager Gus MacPherson may decide to go with experience over youth and play Garry Brady instead of Stephen McGinn - but the youngster seems to enjoy scoring in big games. Up front, it's anyone's guess who will partner Dargo. Top scorer Billy Mehmet will be given every chance to overcome his injury and make the team, but if he doesn't it'll either be Dennis Wyness or Jim Hamilton that's given a place in the starting 11. Recent performances suggest it has to be Wyness - while that would give us no physical presence, Hamilton has been awful on recent showings. The pace of Dargo and the creativity of Wyness could cause the likes of Davie Weir all sorts of problems. On the injury front, Franco Miranda, Steven Robb, Tom Brighton, Stephen O'Donnell and Chris Smith are all still out.
What can be said about Rangers that hasn't already been written? Kris Boyd is an excellent striker and bottom six clubs like ourselves are his bread and butter. Andrius Velicka has done well alongside him in recent weeks, although the return of Kenny Miller to fitness will worry Saints fans who can remember the five goals he scored against us in 2000. They're solid at the back with the likes of Weir and Madjid Bougherra, while right back Steven Whittaker scored a screamer against Hibs last week. On the other side will be Stevie Smith, who was close to signing for us in January before SFA regulations scuppered the deal.
The midfield has been boosted by the absence of Barry Ferguson in recent weeks. Pedro Mendes is a far better player without the club captain alongside him and the same can be said for Steven Davis, while Maurice Edu has turned into a bit of a goal machine in the last few games and Stevie Naismith and Christian Dailly have also done well. Rangers apparently have injury problems at the moment, but they'll still be able to field a team full of internationals!
We should not win tomorrow - there is a gulf between the resources and talent the two sides have at their disposal. But if everyone - players, coaching staff and supporters - gives there all, goes at it from the first whistle to the last and we get a decent regeree, we might, just might, find ourselves making another trip to Hampden at the end of May.