Jim McIntyre Pre Cup Tie

05/03/09: They did a marvellous job here and should be applauded for the work they did here.

Jim McIntyre says Jimmy Calderwood and Jimmy Nicholl deserve a warm homecoming to East End Park on Saturday when they bring their Aberdeen side south in the Homecoming Scotland Scottish Cup Quarter Final. They are likely to get one but maybe not for the reasons the Manager feels warranted:-

"The two Jimmies are coming back to their old stomping ground. They did a marvellous job here and should be applauded for the work they did here. As a player, these are two guys that I would have loved to have worked under. I always liked the way their teams played and always had a good bit of banter when they came to Dundee United.

"They took the club into Europe, Cup Final and had an excellent standard of play here at the time. I have nothing but good words to say about those two."

Jim McIntyre was a Scottish Cup winner with Kilmarnock but when he looks around the dressing room he has Scott Wilson, Greg Shields and Scott Muirhead who played alongside him in the 2007 final. Scott Thomson and Greg Ross played with Wilson and Shields in the 2006 CIS Insurance Cup Final. Stephen Glass played in finals with Aberdeen and Newcastle.

"There is experience in the dressing room of knowing what it takes to get to a cup final. That is a positive thing."

Despite being the last First Division club left in this season's Homecoming Scottish Cup Macca reckons his side are in with a good chance of knocking out Aberdeen:-

"There is no doubt that Aberdeen are favourites; they have some cracking players, good management but St Johnstone and Queen of the South have proved in the last two years in cup competitions that anything can happen. We managed to beat St Mirren earlier on in the season as well in the Co-operative Cup so there's all to play for."