GRETNA SHOULD TAKE GOOD LOOK AT WHAT I DID IN FINALS AND THEN SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT

I HAVE absolutely nothing against Hearts but it would give me great pleasure to see Gretna and Alan Main win the Tennent's Scottish Cup tomorrow.

But before Alan starts to panic let me assure him I won't be at Hampden. I'm not going because I don't want to be a jinx.

It's an understatement but the National Stadium wasn't a happy hunting ground when I was with Dundee United.

Just think about this for a moment. United were in six Scottish Cup finals with me as manager and we lost them all, the last one being the 4-3 defeat by Motherwell after extra time back in 1991.

Alan was in goal and a lot of people blame him for the defeat and although he did make a mistake when he tried to come for a cross it wasn't his fault we lost yet again.

I remember Maurice Malpas missed a sitter in the final minutes but it was no more his fault than Alan's that United didn't win although I know Maurice and some other players have said I was to blame.

Apparently I had them all too wound up but then I've never heard a single one of them say I was responsible for all the wins, such as the one in Barcelona.

My own belief is that what is for you won't go by you and I believe that although I made mistakes along the way with United we were all in it together. We had goals chalked off in those finals while we won two League Cups and clinched the championship all at Dens Park.

So Hampden just wasn't our place but it needn't be like that for Gretna and if I could give them any advice I'd tell them to look at everything I did - then do something completely different. Well, what do I know? As I've been told, United lost six with me in charge.

Actually, the SFA should have offered to present the trophy to the other team before kick-off whenever United got to the final.

But it can be different for Gretna and just as we had all those times from 1974 to '91 they've got a chance. All they have to do is believe they can reach out and seize their moment.

I'd also urge them not to approach the final thinking this will be their one and only chance to get their hands on the Scottish Cup.

That kind of thinking doesn't add to the pressure, it does something worse. It creates desperation and that's the last thing Rowan Alexander will want within the ranks.

His players should be confident in their own abilities, believe they deserve to be at Hamdpen and go out there and do themselves justice.

Hearts were the best side tactically speaking I've seen this season but that was when George Burley was manager and he's not there now. Gretna say they are living the dream but now they have to believe this can be their day, that they can take on the bigger club and triumph.

I'll tell you this, though. If the players can enjoy themselves and have as much fun as Brooks Mileson seems to be having, they'll do fine.

As far as I'm concerned he's great for the Scottish game, a breath of fresh air and I'm not just talking about what he's trying to achieve with Gretna. I know the things he's done for other clubs and their fans, including those of Dundee United.

You look at him and you can tell he just loves what he's doing and that's one of the great things about this game. When you see the joy in someone's face it makes it all worthwhile and one memory which will be with me until the day I die centres around a final United did win.

We beat Aberdeen 3-1 in a replay after a goalless League Cup final at Hampden and we had our first trophy.

We had just come back down from Dens to Tannadice and I was standing with my back to the boardroom door when Ernie Robertson, who had been a benefactor to our club, came in. He came to me with tears in his eyes saying he never thought he'd live to see the day when we'd win a trophy.

That's lived with me all my days since because while as players and managers we all enjoy the credit and go mental at the least wee bit of criticism, it's all about something else. And I don't mean money.

It's about trying to make others proud and happy about their team and just to see what that cup win in 1979-80 meant to someone who had been paying the wages of players and keeping the club going without seeking any return was special.

So I'd love to see Gretna do it but now that I'm on their side they won't. Yet I'd like to see Mileson and Main get their hands on the Cup and I just wish that for once in his life Alan would listen to me.

He didn't lose United the final against Motherwell and he has to try to relax tomorrow and ensure desperation doesn't creep in.

But I know that's easier said than done because it isn't the pressure of playing against a bigger team which beats the smaller outfits. It's the desperation of thinking this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

However, while I'll be hoping Gretna lift the Cup I must say it's a disgrace that they'll be playing in next season's UEFA Cup even if they don't beat Hearts.

It's ridiculous that a team can get into Europe just by being in the Cup Final when it's possible to be helped there by a kind draw. I always say the league is the barometer of how often a team has played well and satisfied supporters.

A team that achieves well in the league should get into the UEFA Cup and not the cup runners-up. Then again, it would be a different story if Gretna win. Then they'd be worthy of the spot.

As told to JAMES T RAYNOR

Taken from the Daily Record