Joe Lewis |

“We had a good week in Dubai and all the boys have come back feeling refreshed.

“I am a fan of the winter break. I think it comes at a good time in January when the weather is not going to be fantastic here. From a players point of view it breaks the season up quite nicely. It allows you to have a mental break and then you can re-assess your goals for the season. With us being in Europe we don’t get much time off during the summer, only a couple of weeks and players like Niall don’t get any time off.

“We then had a good training week. The facilities were great. We got some good quality training and a game and win at the end.

“Every club has the same situation (speculation with the transfer window being open). If you are being linked with or buying players then boys in the dressing room are thinking about how it will affect them. Then all clubs worry about losing players. Everyone in used to it now. It is just part and parcel of football.

“I would be surprised if teams were not looking at our players and keeping tabs on them but as I say it is just part and parcel of football and you have to get on with it. It is up to the powers that be to decide what is best for the club.

“The sooner January comes to an end the better, you then know where you are at and can then concentrate on the run to the end of the season.

“I have played in cup games where we have been the favourite and lost. I have also played for a smaller club and beaten a bigger team. The lads are fully aware that these results happen.

“We will have a good look at their team over the next couple of days and we will approach the game the same way we would approach any other. We will analysis their strengths and weaknesses and look at where we can exploit them and where we need to keep an eye on them. We do this for every game.

“It is always dangerous playing a team who have just lost their manager as well. It is something we have to be aware of. I am sure all the lads will be professional in the way that they will approach the game.

“We will probably have more of the possession but that does not count for anything. It is what you do with it. It is also what you do in the boxes. We have to be ruthless in their area and when the ball comes into our box we have to put bodies on the line. We have to make sure we are sharp.

“In the League Cup we played Ayr and won but we were hanging on in the last ten minutes. They are the type of games that people forget about when you get to a final but they are just as important as any game in a cup run. I am sure the Stranraer game will as tough as other cup games we have had this season. We just have to make sure we approach it properly with the right work rate and in the right frame of mind.

“From my point of view the League Cup final was a bitter disappointment and losing it the way we did just makes us all the more determined to be successful in the Scottish Cup. We want to put things right after losing that final. That loss certainly hit me hard, I was gutted after it. We didn’t show what we are about or do ourselves justice at Hampden.

“The final was a huge disappointment, especially after the big build-up. It wasn’t the sort of performance we normally pride ourselves on.

“A lot of the players here want to get to another final again and show everyone what kind of team we can be in big games.

“All the lads in the dressing room are aware of the length of time it has been since the club last lifted the Scottish Cup.”

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