St Mirren legend Jimmy Bone believes a sprinkling of Scottish Cup magic and a hatful of self-belief can help his former side conjure up a memorable upset against Celtic.
The Saints Hall of Famer was former boss Alex Smith’s second in command when the Paisley club upset the odds in 1987 to beat Jim McLean’s much-fancied Dundee United to lift the famous trophy.
The Buddies will need a similarly huge performance tomorrow evening to have any chance of progressing past red-hot favourites Celtic in Glasgow.
But Bone insists Stephen Robinson’s men have more than a puncher’s chance of making it through to the quarter-finals – as long as they silence the huge Hoops crowd and believe in each other’s ability to pull off the incredible.
Speaking exclusively to Renfrewshire Live Sport, Bone said: “We were big underdogs back in 1987 against a magnificent Dundee United team. They were in the UEFA Cup final that season and nobody fancied us going into that game either. But we could sense we had it among us to pull off an upset.
“The Scottish Cup has that magic about it. We’ve seen it already this year when Darvel beat Aberdeen. Anyone can beat anyone on their day in this competition.
“When you go to Celtic Park or Ibrox, you have to believe in yourself and each other. That’s the most important thing. You’ve got to be positive. You don’t need to go gung ho, but that belief is everything.
“You can see this Saints team has a great work ethic. They need to work harder than Celtic, although admittedly that isn’t easy with their current boss.
“They need to stop Celtic getting into their flow. They need to kill the game a bit and make it more difficult for them to get that pace going.
“They need to try and silence the crowd too, because they can have a huge influence on the outcome. If it’s still 0-0 after half-an-hour, their fans can get frustrated and that is when it can turn against them.”
Bone, who played more than 100 games for the Buddies, skippered the club to the Anglo-Scottish Cup trophy in 1980 and also managed them for four seasons between 1992 and 1996, remembers bringing the Scottish Cup trophy back to Paisley in 1987 like it was yesterday.
And the 73-year-old, who had a brief spell at Celtic in 1974 after being signed by Jock Stein from Sheffield United, hopes the current Buddies crop can enjoy the same special moment this summer.
Bone said: “We had a magical mix of talented youngsters and more experienced players. We blended together so well.
“Paul Lambert was only just coming through and he was sensational. Then you had Frank McGarvey who was coming to the end of his career but was still a phenomenal striker.
“Alex Smith was also the perfect boss for cup competitions. He was very level-headed and so knowledgeable. He had a great way with the players and he stayed in the moment with them, always getting the best out of them.
“He was also never afraid to make a big decision if it was right for the team. He almost always got those right as well.
“We had a great keeper in Campbell Money and the current St Mirren team have a great keeper of their own. It makes a massive difference to the entire defence knowing they’ve got a good keeper behind them. It gives the whole team a boost.
“No one gave St Mirren a chance of beating Celtic earlier this season, but they did it quite comfortably. They’ve got to take confidence from that and believe they can do it again.”
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