Last weekend's professional Scottish Cup performance at Station Park followed by an eminently acceptable home pairing with Queen of the South in the last sixteen does get us Dons fans jumping the gun somewhat and wondering if THIS, at long last, could be our year?

And there is no doubt whatsoever that a return to the national stadium on cup final day would be the icing on the cake for what is already panning out to be an unbelievable year of sporting drama including the European Championship finals and of course the London Olympics (in less than 200 days!).

And, as far as I'm concerned, there is every chance that Scotland could have a new 'Super Hero' before the end of the current month! The year's opening tennis Grand Slam, the Australian Open, gets underway in Melbourne on Monday with Dunblane's Andy Murray, runner-up for the past two years, bidding to go one better this time round.

Like any world class sports person in this country (not that there is an over abundance of them), he has his detractors and there are some who opine that he's a 'bottler' because he hasn't yet lifted a major - what utter poppycock! To reach the semi-finals or better in all four Slams in a single calendar year is a feat only six others have achieved in the modern age and arguably the current competition is hotter than it has been in any other era.

A change of preparation this time round saw the current world number four forsake the Hopman Cup competition in favour of the opening ATP tour event of the new season in Brisbane and, after a couple of early scares, his form was ominously solid as he cruised to the title, dropping a mere 13 games from the quarter final onwards.

And, of course, there is the appointment of one Ivan Lendl as his new coach. Despite reactions of disbelief from certain quarters, that may just prove to be the masterstroke that will assist in taking him to that final level. In the former world number one, Andy has someone who has actually 'been there and done it' at the very top of the tree and someone whose advice he will surely readily take on board.

Once he breaks his duck in Slams, I have absolutely no doubt Andy Murray will go on to lift many more majors and, without wishing to appear greedy, a Dons-Murray double in the Scottish Cup and at Wimbledon would for me see anything else achieved this year, simply pale into insignificance!