Bonus rows. Poor league form. Boardroom disputes. Arguments over the manager. Those, and all the other problems we've endured recently, should be put out of everyone's minds for the next few days. Sunday is a day to be savoured, to be enjoyed, to remembered. They come along incredibly rarely and should not be overshadowed by other nonsense. I'll be one of the thousands of Saints fans seeing us in a Hampden final for the first time, and it's something I intend to enjoy.
However, this is all getting a bit Tartan Army, so let's be absolutely clear here - while we want to have fun, we also want to win. It is almost mission impossible, but it can be done. We beat Rangers last season, we put Celtic out of the Scottish Cup while Hearts knocked them out of the League Cup. The Old Firm can be beaten. Rangers have only lost once since they were beaten in last year's League Cup Final, but that was to Aberdeen - not something many teams have done recently! They are very much beatable, as Sunday's game against Dundee United proved when the Arabs almost put them out of the Scottish Cup. We can do this, if we take a positive attitude.
Every player must give their all. They cannot come off the pitch with any regrets, thinking what might have been, wondering what would have happened if they'd made that pass, taken that shot or lunged into that tackle. Just go for it, give your all and make sure no one can accuse you of shirking your responsibility. Play to the best of your ability. If everyone does that, then we have a chance.
Likewise, the fans must provide backing. If we're struggling, we must make some noise. We have to be the clichéd 12 man and support our players to the hilt, even if they are making mistakes. If we support the players, they can improve and give us something to cheer - it's a two way street. Fantastic displays are planned to greet their arrival on the pitch, which should get them right up for the game. There should be no freezing or stage fright, and the outstanding support the players will get should help them overcome whatever nerves they have.
A lot also depends on Gus MacPherson's team selection, and I don't envy him one bit. Before you even bother about the personnel, you have to select a formation. 3-5-2 worked against Hearts in the semi-final and against Rangers a few days later, while it almost worked at Ibrox (if getting a draw in a cup replay was the aim). 4-4-2 hasn't been used for a while, but would allow us to match up with Rangers. It would also involve playing a number of players out of position. A lot depends on the fitness of Chris Innes. If he can play, then we can go with a back three with him, John Potter and Lee Mair. If he's not, it's perhaps a bit much to ask David Barron to play there in a cup final against Rangers, so we could revert to a back four, with Barron or Graham Carey at leftback.
I for one hope there isn't some sort of loyalty to the players that got us this far and Carey doesn't miss out. He is our main threat from set-pieces, and they are likely to be our main chance of a goal. His crossing is also rather good and could cause a few problems. Ideally, he would start on the left side of midfield. Personally, I'd like to see Hugh Murray, Andy Dorman and Steven Thomson fill the other slots, as I don't think Garry Brady, Allan Johnston or Stephen O'Donnell can cut it from the start in a game like this. I'd like to see Craig Dargo in from the start as his movement could cause problems, and Billy Mehmet probably deserves the place alongside him due to his semi-final goal. That would leave Michael Higdon as the sole striker on the bench as Rory Loy isn't allowed out to play. Chris Smith and Tom Brighton are definitely out, while Steven Robb and Innes could join them.
We've played Rangers so many times this season that if they beat us on Sunday they'll probably get to keep us. If they win, it will be the first part of what their fans hope will be a domestic treble. Only a Morton-esque collapse can see them lose the SPL while they have a Scottish Cup replay with Dundee United coming up in a few days time. Considering they are skint (by their standards) this is pretty impressive and you have to praise Walter Smith for the work he has done. Ally McCoist also deserves a mention as he seems to be in charge of cup games, unless things start going wrong like they did at Ibrox last Sunday afternoon. Saints legend Kenny McDowall, who was part of the famous Scottish Cup winning side of 1987, is also on the coaching staff at Rangers but won't let sentiment get in the way this weekend.
Rangers have plenty of threats and we should know all about them by now. Kris Boyd thrives on games like this and will be keen to add to his tally against us, while the movement of Kenny Miller should cause us problems. Nacho Novo's pace is a handy weapon, whether used from the start or as a sub, and it caused Potter a whole host of problems at Ibrox a fortnight ago. Steven Davis has been outstanding recently, Lee McCulloch has been given a new lease of life in midfield (and scored twice against us the other week) and Kevin Thomson is looking good now that he's fit. They also have Kyle Lafferty, who'll get booed but is probably due a goal sooner or later.
Sadly, they're also pretty strong at the back, even though Madjid Bougherra is injured. Allan McGregor may be spending more time on the front pages rather than the back, but he is an outstanding keeper. Davie Weir and Danny Wilson blend youth and experience in the middle of defence, with Sasa Papac and Steven Whittaker in the fullback roles - the latter also proving a rather handy goalscorer this season. They can also call on the services of former Saint Kirk Broadfoot, although injury looks like sidelining him for this one. The League Cup hasn't been kind to him recently as he was sent off in last season's final!
It's fair to say our record in cup competitions against Rangers is pretty dismal. We've beaten them just three times in the two domestic cups and have never beaten them at Hampden. Our record against them this season is also pretty poor - in five meetings we've managed just two goals and a draw, and that was in the Scottish Cup. On the plus side, we beat them on our way to winning the Scottish Cup for the first time in 1926. This is our second appearance in the League Cup final, the first being in 1955 when we were beaten by Aberdeen, Bobby Holmes scoring for ourselves. Sunday has been a long time coming, and hopefully it's worth the wait.
Our poor league form of late does not bode well, but then apparently that was the case in 1987 as well, and we know how that ended. The cup run has been a complete contrast to the form and I'd love to know why. If we play like we did against Hearts in the last round, then who knows what will happen on Sunday?