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"Obviously we have to be satisfied with another home draw and a game against a side from the league below us. But St Mirren have done well to get to this stage and by doing so they have shown they are a good side."

"We will be treating them as if they were a top SPL side and while I personally don’t know much about them, I am sure the gaffer will give us the run-down before kick-off because I know he and his backroom staff have done their homework on them."

"I think we would be doing St Mirren a dis-service if we were to start talking about who we would want in the semi-final. They have done well and we know we will have to play our best football to get through."

"There is a confidence in the side, of course, because a football player without confidence is no good for the team. At this moment we are bubbling with confidence but that doesn’t mean we are arrogant and complacent."

"We may have a bunch of young lads, but I think we are quite mature. We haven’t gone shouting about doing this or that, we’ve simply taken it one game at a time and tried to do our best."

"We also have some experienced players who help us along and guide us but the winning mentality spreads down from the gaffer and Mark Venus, they are born winners and they want to win trophies for our fans."

"Like everyone else, the players were astounded at the number of fans who watched the Brechin game and it would be brilliant to run out tomorrow and not to see any empty seats."

"But the Hibs supporters have been unbelievable this season, even when we have been away from home."

"The fans have been coming back in increasing numbers. We are playing some good football, we are entertaining them and I think that is reflected in the fact we are playing to bigger and bigger crowds."

"We had a few first-half chances against Dundee but it just didn’t happen for us. The worst thing you can do is to start hanging your head, you simply have to keep plugging away. We did so and ended up strong winners that day."

"It’s been good to get a couple of goals in the Cup so far and hopefully I’ll get the chance to extend that run tomorrow."

"My goal against Dundee settled that tie and scoring the first one in any match is always important. I felt that against Brechin all the pressure was on us, we could only lose the match."

"Sometimes in such matches the longer the game goes without a goal the crowd begins to become frustrated and anxious and that can be transmitted to the players on the pitch."

"However, the one thing we do have in our side are goal scorers. With Garry O’Connor and Derek Riordan in the team you are practically guaranteed a goal in every game but there are others in virtually every area who are capable of nicking one."

"It was a very satisfying victory. The fact people were talking of our bubble having burst shows how far we have come this season. We go to Ibrox and lose as every team does and then draw away to Motherwell and there were those only too willing to start writing us off."

"But Rangers are the best side in Scotland at the moment and I am sure there are quite a few teams who would be quite chuffed to go to Fir Park and take a point, it is a very difficult venue."

"It’s the way things always are, when you are up there you are there to be shot at. We actually found it quite amusing because it shows what people think of us. They are just waiting for us to fall and it is not happening. When anyone says anything bad about us or makes a stupid comment on television we simply use it to drive us on all the more."

Sam Morrow - Edinburgh Evening News - February 25th 2005

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