Simon Murray reveals Dundee derby lesson learned as he opens up on 'amazing feeling' at Dens Park

Dundee believe.

They believe bright times are ahead at Dens Park.

Simon Murray believes his lifelong dream could come true this season.

The Dark Blues are only into the last 16 of the Scottish Cup.

But such was the buzz at getting past their fiercest of rivals in round four that belief is coursing through the veins.

Their last three fixtures have been against the country’s top three sides and they are disappointed to only come away with one win and two draws.

That’s the measure of difference in mentality at Dens Park right now.

With a presentable home draw in the fifth round against struggling Airdrieonians, could Dundee actually have a chance of winning a first Scottish Cup since 1910?

“We want to get Dundee stability in the league, pushing top six every season – but winning a cup is the dream,” Murray said.

“I have dreamed about it all my life.

“It’s tough to win the league in this country so the cups are the main thing we can aim at.

“It has been a long time, nobody has seen Dundee win the Scottish Cup so it would be an unbelievable achievement.

“That would be amazing.

“You see the talent we have, we have Seun [Adewumi], Lyall Cameron and loads of others.

“There is a real belief we can compete against any team at the moment so why not have a little cup run and give the fans something?

“We have got consistency in performance and togetherness. You can see it when we make last-ditch tackles, the boys are celebrating.

“You can see people throwing themselves in front of everything.

“We look a totally different team from the start of the season but we also know what happens in football if you take your foot off the gas for a second.”

‘Amazing’

Murray scored the opener in the previous derby on January 2 but saw Dundee United come from behind to win the league match at Dens Park.

This time his opening goal was enough to win the tie. He does, though, admit he learned a lesson from that earlier derby.

“Was this my best night in a Dundee shirt? Yeah, it’s up there with anything in my career to be honest,” Murray added.

“Scoring the winner in the derby, it’s right up there with my best experiences in football.

“It’s amazing, family and friends were there so it was an amazing feeling.

“I had the same in the Edinburgh derby as well, so it’s good – you have to enjoy these nights when they come.

“I scored in the last derby but we ended up losing the game so that took the shine right off it.

“This time I tried to stay calm after scoring because it bit me on the a**e the last time!

“So I just wanted to keep going and I thought the boys were excellent.”