Hegarty well aware of Ross threat

12 May 2010 10:19
Paul Hegarty insists there is no chance of Dundee United underestimating the threat of Ross County in the Scottish Cup final this weekend.[LNB] They faced another Irn-Bru First Division side, Raith Rovers, just 24 hours after the Highlanders stunned Celtic by dumping them out of the competition.[LNB]Hegarty is well aware that plenty of people were looking for another cup upset in their own semi-final but, having come through that test, he believes United can now overcome Ross County, even though they have established themselves as the giant-slayers this year.[LNB]"They beat Hibs and they beat Celtic so they have done exceptionally well," said the Tannadice coach.[LNB]"Celtic were desperate to get into the final and it wasn't to be because Ross County deserved to win. They are there on merit and so are we.[LNB]"We played Raith Rovers in the semi-final and because we are an SPL team and they are lower division we were the favourites and it was very difficult. They caused us a few problems.[LNB]"But the good thing is that our players have sampled Hampden against a First Division club and they know what it's all about. We just have to make sure they continue to remain focused."[LNB]Midfielder Craig Conway echoed Hegarty's thoughts by insisting Ross County fully deserve their place in Saturday's final and claiming their win over Celtic was far from a freak result.[LNB]"I think you would be silly to say it was a fluke," he said.[LNB]"Anybody who watched the game would see that they thoroughly deserved everything they got. They won quite comfortably in the end and it was a great performance.[LNB]"They have had a hard run, like ourselves, and they fully deserve to be there. It will be a hard game and a good game because they have a lot of good players as well."[LNB]It has been an eventful campaign for United, who lost manager Craig Levein in December before enjoying a resurgence under his assistant Peter Houston, despite his initial reluctance to take over at the helm.[LNB]Houston went on to lead the Tangerines to a coveted third place finish in the SPL and Conway would love to cap off the season with silverware.[LNB]He said: "We set out at the start of the season saying we wanted to get into Europe and finishing third was our aim. But it's a big ask and we have managed to do it.[LNB]"It's been a great season and you couldn't top it off in a better way than by winning the Scottish Cup. It's been a gradual thing and we have done better each year.[LNB]"We got to the Co-operative Insurance Cup final a couple of years ago and got to the semi-final last year. We just haven't gone that extra step and won it and now we have the chance to do that on Saturday.[LNB]"You've got to give Craig Levein and Peter credit and it's brilliant that we have done so well since Peter took over.[LNB]"We didn't have a great start and Peter nearly walked but it's brilliant that he stayed on and we were able to finish third for him and everybody else at the club. Hopefully we can go on and win the cup now."

Source: Team_Talk