Partick Thistle’s Danny Devine is drawing inspiration from his previous Scottish Cup heroics as he aims to set his new side on a path that leads all the way up the Hampden steps.

The centre-half was part of the triumphant Inverness team that lifted the famous old trophy in 2014, and even bagged the winning goal in a tense quarter-final against Raith Rovers.

The unforgettable experience of winning the tournament not only inspires him to do his utmost to repeat the feat, but gives him real belief that a so-called smaller side like Thistle can go all the way.

And further inspiration is all around him, as he reckons the Jags squad has all of the qualities required to deliver his second Scottish Cup winners medal.

“Could it be our year? Definitely,” Devine said. “I’ve been in a side that nobody expected anything from and we went all the way and lifted the cup. It’s definitely not impossible.

“It’s a big task, but with the squad we have got then I have confidence we can do something special.

“You need a bit of luck but we are looking forward to putting a decent run together.

“Inverness winning the cup a couple of years ago gives the league confidence and belief that they can do it as well. It would be great if Partick Thistle went on a similar good run.

“I scored the winning goal against Raith Rovers in the quarter final at home, it’s my claim to fame, but my outstanding memory of winning it was seeing James Vincent pop up from nowhere with the winning goal.

“We had 10 men and we were running on empty and Falkirk were knocking on the door to get a winner.

“When the goal went in, it was a sense of unbelievable relief. The celebrations afterwards were amazing too. It was a party bus on the way back up the A9.

“We were in Europe and it was a big deal to Inverness, who don’t have as much financial muscle as others. The whole club and city was buzzing.

“I see the same ingredients at Partick Thistle as we had at Inverness. We have a lot of quality players, good experience and good team spirit. We’ve started to gel together over Christmas and we are full of confidence. We have what it takes to go on a very good run – and hopefully, in the end, do something special.”

And what of that winner’s medal?

“It’s back at my mother’s house in Belfast,” he said. “She has it hung up in her living room so whoever comes in sees it. She makes sure it is on show and she tells the story if anyone asks about it.”

Before the Thistle players can entertain any thoughts of an open top bus parade down Maryhill Road, they will first have to overcome Formartine United at Firhill this afternoon.

Devine is stressing that no one inside Firhill will be allowed to take their Highland League opponents lightly, with all the pressure on Thistle’s shoulders to win the tie convincingly.

“It’s definitely something we need to be wary of,” he said. “We know it’s not going to be an easy game. In fact, the pressure to go out and win the game is so big that we’d probably rather be playing Celtic.

“But we are professional and we have a good attitude. We will give them respect and treat them like we would any team. But we know we have the better players and the better quality and we want to put on a good performance and get into the next round.

“But it’s their cup final and we know they will be right up for it.”