Thursday 28 May 2015 11:56, UK
Falkirk's Peter Grant admits that he has listened carefully to some fatherly advice as he prepares for the Scottish Cup final against Inverness Caldeonian Thistle this weekend.
Falkirk will be hoping to make it third time lucky in the national showpiece having lost out to Kilmarnock and Rangers in 1997 and 2009 - and Grant Jr will be keen to replicate the success of his father Peter Grant Sr who lifted the trophy with Celtic in 1995.
Grant Jr said: "He’s been saying it’s a remarkable occasion to be involved in. It’s what every player dreams about doing. He said the main thing is to play the game and not the occasion, try and treat it like a normal game and do the things you would do in a normal league game and play to your own strengths.
"These are things I will try and do anyway whether it’s going into a league game or a cup final. We’ve both been very relaxed about it.
"I’ve tried to prepare in the right way possible. There’s that little bit of an edge because it’s a cup final. We believe we have got good enough quality in the squad to go and cause an upset.
"We're such a football family, with my brother and dad involved. It was absolutely massive getting into a Cup Final and my family were in the stands after the game.
"I hadn’t seen them much with them being down south so the emotions did get on top of me that day. It was a great feeling and hopefully we can go one better this weekend."
Meanwhile, the Championship club's star striker Rory Loy insists he raring to go for the Hampden Park showdown. He has not played since early March but insists he is raring to go for the weekend.
He said: "I’ve trained for the last week or so and got some game time down at Swansea. So I am fit and raring to go.
"I’ve been out for 12 weeks and I've not kicked a competitive ball in that time. I’m not going to be 100% match sharpness. The manager knows that and I’ve been down at St George’s Park for two week working very hard on my fitness which has helped.
"I’ve been training here and got 20 minutes against Swansea. It’s just whether the manager decides to start me. That built in with the momentum of the occasion and the adrenaline, if I was to start then I could give as good as I have got."
Loy will leave the club for Dundee in the summer and he is determined to bow out with a Cup winner's medal.
He said: "I've had a great two years here. The last 12 weeks have been a bit of a downer, given I’ve missed so many important games and the chance to get in the play-offs.
I missed the semi-final which I was disappointed about at the time. After the game I was delighted that we had managed to get through it. The time I’ve had here I would love to go out on a high and there’s no higher way to do it than lifting the Scottish Cup."
Falkirk goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald has played in two Scottish Cup finals before, losing one when Queen of the South lost out to Rangers in 2007, and winning the other with Hearts three years ago.
He said: "The thing is to go and enjoy it. That’s the main thing for me. This might be a one in a lifetime occasion for some of the boys. Who knows, some of them might go on to play numerous cup finals. It’s an occasion to go and enjoy. It’s a great achievement for the club to get to the final but it would be unbelievable if we can go on to win it?"
Watch the Scottish Cup final live on Sky Sports 3HD from 2.00pm on 30 May
