The two trips St Mirren were desperately hoping to avoid in the next round of the Scottish Cup were either to Ibrox or Celtic Park.
Unfortunately, as the draw at Hampden for the last-16 unravelled, it looked increasingly likely it would be one of the Old Firm the Buddies would have to fire past to reach the quarter-finals.
And being dished out another visit to Celtic Park early next month, where the Hoops just recently dished them out a heavy 4-0 defeat, was the last thing on manager Stephen Robinson ’s wish list.
Especially given the Paisley side’s impressive home form this season.
If the tie had been at the SMiSA it would have still been daunting, but not quite as scary as another trip to Glasgow’s east end.
But if the Saints need any inspiration ahead of the tie, they need look no further than Scottish Cup upset kings Darvel.
The Ayrshire side, with a group of former Buddies in their ranks, pulled off the unthinkable on Monday night, toppling one of Scotland’s biggest clubs to pull off arguably the competition’s greatest ever upset.
Darvel do undoubtedly have financial backing that separates them from the rest of the West of Scotland Football League pack.
But it pails into insignificance when compared to Aberdeen’s clout, with millionaire chairman Dave Cormack pumping the kind of cash into Pittodrie that even other Scottish top flight clubs can only dream of.
So, don’t let Darvel’s relative financial clout at WoSFL level detract from the monumental, and deserved, victory they pulled off on Monday.
A win which pushed ex-St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin even closer to the Aberdeen exit door less than a year after jumping ship from Paisley to Pittodrie.
The financial gap between the Saints and Celtic is similarly massive, in relative top flight terms.
The Hoops have a mammoth squad, which they flexed in their 4-0 win against Robinson’s men earlier this month when the likes of Sead Hakšabanovic, Aaron Mooy, David Turnbull, Daizen Maeda and James Forrest stolled off the bench.
Those five players would almost certainly walk into every other team in the country, including St Mirren’s.
But what Darvel proved on Monday night at Recreation Park is that determination and teamwork can upset the odds, especially in cup competitions when the pressure on the favourite to progress is magnified.
Don’t get me wrong, Aberdeen are in freefall so the challenge St Mirren face in Celtic is greater given Ange Postecoglou has his side firing on all cylinders.
But the Buddies certainly should travel to Celtic Park full of confidence they can be the latest club to pull off a shock cup result early next month.
Before then the Saints need to get back to winning ways in the Premiership, starting with the visit of struggling Motherwell tomorrow afternoon.
St Mirren have won just once in their last ten league games – a victory against Aberdeen on Christmas Eve helped in big part by Anthony Stewart’s first half dismissal.
While performance levels have been strong against the likes of Hearts and Celtic, their lack of clinical finishing has cost the Paisley side the chance to stay in the top six.
With a game still in hand on the Dons and Hibs above them, St Mirren still have an excellent chance of climbing back into the top half in the next few weeks.
After the visit of the Steelmen, Robinson’s men take on Aberdeen at Pittodrie and Hibs at the SMiSA Stadium.
Picking up results against those two struggling sides will be imperative if the Saints are going to keep up in the top six race.
A win against Motherwell tomorrow is also beginning to look like a must to keep that top-half dream alive.
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