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Daily Record
Sport
Robbie Hanratty

Annan boss taunts Rangers by saying they have ‘failed’ if they don’t win 5-0 in Scottish Cup clash

Annan Athletic boss Peter Murphy says Rangers will have "failed" if they don't put four or five goals past his team this weekend.

The League Two side set up a glamour Scottish Cup tie with the Premiership champions last month with a 4-3 win over Clydebank in the last round.

They face a Rangers side who have bounced back from derby defeat to Celtic with back-to-back wins over Hearts and Hibs - scoring seven times without reply.

And Murphy has played down any expectation of a cup shock - saying the pressure is on Gers to come to town and put on a show.

He told BBC Radio Cumbria: “It’s a big game, a great game for the club, the town and the supporters as well.

“I’m trying to look at it as just another game for us and for my players not to get caught up in the atmosphere and just try and concentrate on the game.

“We know we’re going to have a very tough game on Saturday and Rangers, if they don’t win four or five nil they’ve failed, so there’s no pressure on my players whatsoever.

“I watched them on Sunday to try and get a few tips and they beat Hearts 5-0, so we know it’s going to be very difficult.”

Annan sit fourth in League Two and Murphy knows just how important a cup run is for his team, especially with the lure of drawing Gio van Bronckhorst's side.

“Any cup run that any club gets at our level really helps, I think it’s the second time we’ve been in this round so the financial implications are great.

“Cup competitions like this can sustain a club like ours for another couple of years.

“Particularly after a couple of years with Covid that we’ve had and the financial implications of not having the revenue coming in, the revenue this cup run will bring in will really help us.“

Over 2,500 punters will pack Galabank stadium for the tie which sees the winner reach the quarter final stage of the cup.

Murphy added: “The cup gives you that dream.

“In the last round we were out with four minutes to go and then we scored two goals to get ourselves through which was an unbelievable experience.

“Anything can happen with the romance of the cup we’ll see what Rangers bring on the day.

“What I’ll be trying to put across to my players is to go out and enjoy it and embrace the experience and if we and get a result then that’s the cup dream.

“For my players there’s no pressure on them at all and if they go out and perform and put on a good performance, we’ll see what happens.”

The two sides face off live on Premier Sports 1 on Saturday evening with a 5.30pm kick-off.

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