Barry Smith relishes prospect of Dundee derby

DUNDEE boss Barry Smith admitted today that he is relishing the prospect of a nailbiting Tayside derby in the quarter-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup.

The Dundee sides were paired together in the draw for the last four after United’s convincing victory over Third Division Rangers on Saturday, while Smith’s side racked up a 5-0 win over Morton in the fifth round yesterday.

Smith knows that the whole city will be fired up for the clash and he said: “It’s a great draw. It’s a fantastic one for the fans. They’ll be relishing this game.

“It’s some draw for the whole city as these fixtures are always special.”

Willie Miller, who helped conduct the draw yesterday, added: “It’s a cracker, isn’t it? I think they’ll really be looking forward to it. A draw like that will excite the whole of Dundee. I’m sure the whole of Scotland will be looking forward to it, because you don’t often get these derbies coming at such a crucial time in the Cup.”

The draw was made at Easter Road after Hibs’ victory over Aberdeen, Gary Deegan scoring the only goal of the game, and Pat Fenlon’s men were handed a trip to play Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

Celtic face SPL side St Mirren and manager Neil Lennon will be out for revenge over Saints boss and namesake Danny following their shock defeat at the end of last month.

The Paisley side knocked the SPL leaders out of the League Cup, eventually getting the better of the Parkhead side in a five-goal thriller.

A team from the Irn-Bru First Division is guaranteed to make it through to the last four after Hamilton and Falkirk came out of the hat together.