Scottish Cup Crunch Night Steve And Mates So Desperate To Deliver The Glory Fans Crave Motherwell V Dundee Tonight, Fir Park, 7.45pm
STEPHEN HUGHES knows the Scottish Cup means something special to Motherwell fans this season.
And that's why the pressure on the players to deliver the supporters' expectations will be as high as it has ever been in their fifth-round tie against Dundee at Fir Park tonight.
The drama of the comeback from two goals down against Hearts at Tynecastle in the last round was heightened by the intense bond forged between the team and fans in the game that brought Well's return to action after the death of Phil O'Donnell.
Atidal wave of optimism swept Hearts off the pitch at Fir Park in the replay. And if Mark McGhee's men win tonight to book a quarterfinal clash with Queen of the South, Hughes knows confidence will go into overdrive.
The midfielder said: "There will be some fans who think our name's already on the Cup.
"The competition means so much to them this season because of all the images of Phil and the 1991 Final when they beat Dundee United that have been everywhere since his untimely death.
"The supporters want us to win the Cup in Phil's memory and so do the players.
We know it would be a fitting tribute to him and his family but the danger is that desire makes you look too far ahead and that proves counter productive."
Hughes has the highest regard for Dundee manager Alex Rae, a Rangers veteran when he was a young player at Ibrox .
He added: "I'm not surprised Dundee have done well under Alex. I knew they would be well organised because Alex always exerted a strong influence over the players at Ibrox, young or old, during the 12 months I worked with him. What we have to guard against is thinking a home draw followed by another First Division team automatically adds up to a place in the semi-finals."
Hughes insists standards in Scottish football out with the Old Firm improved while he was in England. He said: "I would never have run down the teams I came up against when I was playing for Rangers by saying you could smell the fear rising from them.
"We always gave the opposition respect but there was definitely a feeling after taking an early lead in some matches that you'd go on to score three or four goals before you were finished.
"I don't think either half of the Old Firm goes anywhere today believing that to be the case. The standard now is definitely higher than what I left behind."
Hughes has no regrets over the time he spent in the Championship and insists team-mate Ross McCormack is doing the right thing by trying his luck down south.
Hughes said: "I was a better player for the experience of moving to England and wish Ross well wherever he goes next season.
But I'm glad he didn't move during last month's transfer window because I think he has a bit of damage left to do for Motherwell before this campaign's finished.
"The Cup's our chance of glory and we need to come out of an enforced break due to bad weather with a renewed determination. The break in our momentum after the win over Hearts was the last thing we needed but we have to start addressing our fixtures backlog.
"Players would always put playing before training, so the frustration of working from Monday to Friday then having no game on a Saturday was starting to drive us mad.
"The game with Dundee has been called off twice but that has only increased our determination to win it and progress to the next round."
