Stevie May: Betfred Cup success would be ‘amazing’ for St Johnstone

Celtic v St Johnstone – Scottish Premiership – Celtic Park
(Image credit: Andrew Milligan)

St Johnstone striker Stevie May believes adding the Betfred Cup to the Scottish Cup would be “amazing” for the McDiarmid Park club and himself.

The 28-year-old starred in the Saints side which won the 2014 Scottish Cup final with a 2-0 win over Dundee United at Celtic Park.

It was the Perth club’s first major trophy and there is a chance to grab the other major national cup in Scotland when they face Livingston at Hampden Park on Sunday and May knows the significance of victory.

He said: “It would be amazing personally and obviously for the club.

“Going so long in the history of the club without winning anything and then to win two in a relatively short space of time would be huge.

“It is probably getting underestimated how big an achievement it would be.

“Another cup win for me would be massive. Obviously winning the trophies would be by far the highlights of my career.

“The Scottish Cup itself was such a big thing at the time. It would be amazing to do that (again), for the fans as well as myself, and the younger players who are just starting out their careers.

“To get a trophy so early as I did would be really special for them as well. We have a chance, we have got ourselves here after some tough games.

“It is all to play for. It will be a tough game but we definitely have the belief in our abilities and confidence to go and win the game.

“There is not much bigger than a cup final. There’s not been many over the years, so when they come around you  have to make the most of them. We managed to do it the last time so the plan is to do it again.”

May, in his second spell at the McDiarmid Park club where he started his career, believes the 3-0 win over Hibernian in the semi-final, as well as the 3-0 win over Motherwell at the weekend, will give the players added confidence.

The former Sheffield Wednesday, Preston North End and Aberdeen player, said: “I said it at the time how well we did in that semi-final game.

“It wasn’t as if it was a scrappy 1-0 win which you obviously would have taken at the time.

“It was similar to the weekend where we looked so confident and played such nice football at the same time as being hard to beat.

“If we can pair those two (things), it obviously gives us the best chance to get our hands on the trophy, so that is our aim.

“We know Livingston will make it hard for us but it’s about combating that and doing everything we can.

“We know how difficult it will be.

“It is important not to get too carried away and know that there is a job there to be done.

“We have played Livingston a few times this season and will work on a game plan that we think we can execute to win the game.”