Potter up for the Cup

"A victory on Saturday up there could move our league form on. It is a cup game, a chance to get a day out at Hampden and try and get to a cup final."

After two draws in the SPL this season against Inverness Caley Thistle John Potter is hoping Dunfermline can return from the Highland capital with their name in the hat for the last sixteen of the Scottish Cup:-

"A victory on Saturday up there could move our league form on. It is a cup game, a chance to get a day out at Hampden and try and get to a cup final." John felt that league form does not necessarily hold when it comes to cup ties but given the Pars home form this season would they really want a replay at East End Park?

"You know the team you are playing against but a cup game is one that both teams go out to win. Sometimes when away from home you might play for a draw especially if its tight late on but this time both teams are going to be trying to win the game. It is vital that we do, we want to win."

Along with Gary Mason, John is the only one of the current Dunfermline squad to have played in a winning Pars team at the Caledonian Stadium. Gary's win was in March 2007 but John's was back in April 2000 on a day that secured Jimmy Calderwood's side promotion to the SPL. History tells us that Dunfermline do not have a great record at the ground but the romance of the cup can work wonders and he has his heart set on going as far as he can in this season's William Hill Scottish Cup:-

"You think it is a long way away but in reality it is only three or four games away. It is a chance to win a national competition; a club like ourselves are not going to win the league but cup football is a chance to win a medal."

For a player a cup game is not really any different to a league game, John stressed that he and his team mates go out to try and win every game:-

"The only difference in a cup game would be towards the end you might go and chase it. You start as a normal game and try and win through."

The 32 year old central defender has had time to reflect that on Monday Dunfermline came up against a very good Celtic team:-

"I thought that we didn't impose ourselves great at the start of the game and when you look back at the goals they came from a corner and two free kicks. They didn't cut us open time after time or created a number of great chances. We can still do more going forward because we have good attacking players.

"It was a difficult game and I was disappointed but against Celtic and Rangers you need to score the first goal. We didn't do that, they did and moved on. These are not the games that we are worried about, obviously you try and take three points but we need to start taking points from teams around about us. Hopefully we can do that soon."

John would be the first to admit that the first half of the season has not been great and that they need to do better.

"We are the only ones who can change that but if we can pick up our form and continue that would be better."

The cup tie at Inverness is expected to be tough, John acknowledged that Terry Butcher's side have performed well and picked their form up a step but he concluded:-

"If we play the way we know we can and have done in patches this season then I am confident that we can win the game and move on to the next round."

Subscribers to Dunfermline Media Centre can hear John Potter in full at http://www.dafc.welovesport.co.uk/