Drey Wright has experienced the harsh side-effects of cup football at Hampden with Hibs -and now the winger is wanting to use that painful process as League Cup motivation.
The Hibees face Dundee on Sunday afternoon as they look to book a seeded place in the last 16 of the League Cup. Jack Ross’ side were beaten by Hearts in the Scottish Cup semi-final last month and Wright wants to avoid similar displeasure.
“We have a good opportunity to progress here and that’s what we are trying to do,” said Wright. “It will be a tough game as the majority of games are but with it being at home we will be looking to control the game and get the points.
“They have a lot of experienced players who have played at big levels throughout their careers so it will be a good game to be involved in. We are looking to make our mark in every competition we are in.
“The experience we had (at Hampden in the Scottish Cup semi-final) was a sore one and we will be using that to drive is on and we want to get back to semi-finals. We want to be winning those games and reaching finals but we have to take one game at a time and three points at the weekend takes us through to the next round and another step forward.”
Wright, an Englishman, watched on with pride on Thursday as Scotland secured Euro 2020 qualification against Serbia. The Hibs winger is delighted for his adopted nation and says it can prove inspiring.
“I don’t see why we can’t take inspiration from the men’s national team,” said Wright. “You see players performing at a very high level and it’s obviously great for the league.
“I get a sense of how big this is. I’ve been up here for a few years and you are reminded of how long it’s been. Someone said it was 22 years, that’s such a long time. It’s brilliant for the whole country. Unfortunately I won’t be declaring a Scottish relative!”