Aston Oxborough has revealed the Dunfermline players will have no fear when they take on Celtic in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final at Hampden today with “serial winner” Neil Lennon in the dugout.
The East End Park club, who lost to Partick Thistle in the two-legged Premiership play-off semi-final last week, are massive underdogs going into the encounter with the new Scottish champions.
But Oxborough and his team mates have beaten top flight rivals Hibernian, Aberdeen and Falkirk en route to the final and are convinced they can rise to the occasion and pull off a major upset against their double-chasing opponents.
The on-loan Motherwell goalkeeper, who was named Man of the Match in the semi-final after saving a Liam Henderson penalty in the shootout, admitted that having Lennon, who has won the competition four times as a player and as a manager, in charge gives the Championship side confidence.
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“The magnitude of the game is hitting home now, going through to Hampden to do the media stuff and the buzz around Dunfermline,” he said. “I don’t stay there so it’s maybe the local boys who are feeling it more, but it’s massive for everyone at the club.
“I’ve never played in a cup final before. I was around Norwich when they lifted the trophy for the Championship. But I’ve not been involved in anything like this. We just have to carry on doing the things that have got us here - go out on Saturday playing with character and fearlessness.
“Having a young team helps us with that because we have so many talented players who are just at the start of their careers. We’re playing into that. There are a lot of good players in our dressing room and some of them probably won’t realise the size of what they’ve achieved getting here until a few years down the line.
“That’s a big asset to have in your team, they have no fear about these big games. We’ll just go out, play football and not think about the magnitude of it or the size of club we’re facing.
“That’s what we did against Hibs, against Aberdeen and then against Falkirk at Hampden for the semi-final. Coming through those has given us a massive amount of confidence but also taught us what you need to do to get through these games.
“Celtic will have spells of possession so we’ll have to dig in at times, but we had to do that in the other games as well. In these games you have to ride out the waves of attacks and then know when to have a go yourself.
“The boys have now played at Hampden before, they know what to expect - the pitch, the atmosphere and the fans. I’m sure all that stands us in good stead.”
Oxborough continued, “The manager has been pretty much the same this week, he’s tried to keep things low-key. He probably realises that he doesn’t have too many players who have experienced something like this before.
“He’s a serial winner, he knows what he’s doing and we trust him. Everyone taps into his experience because it helps us. You can tell he’s been involved in so many big games in his career, he knows how to handle every situation.
“I think it’s his 15th final so he’s gone through it all and has some track record. At times he tries to play things down to take the pressure off the boys, but he’s also made us know it’s not about just being there to compete - we’re there to win. He has that mentality because he’s managed at a high level. His experience shines through throughout the week but especially on game days.
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“Before I came here I asked a few people about him and they all said the same - he’s great to work for and he will let you know when he’s not happy with something. He’s pretty much as you see, I find that refreshing because you know exactly where you stand with him. When you’ve done something good he tells you - and he’s not slow when you’ve done something bad either.”
Dunfermline have only won the Scottish Cup twice in their 141-year history and Oxborough knows if he and his team mates beat Celtic they will become legends at the Fife club.
“I didn’t realise the massive names attached to Dunfermline until I arrived at the club,” he said. “You see the pictures of previous teams and people, Jock Stein winning the cup in the 1960s and Sir Alex Ferguson playing here, and it shows you the club’s history.
“It would be crazy if this team ends up on the walls alongside them for winning it this year. These opportunities don’t come around often and it’s our chance to make history.
“I know Dunfermline has been to a few finals in the last 20-odd years, but it has been a long time since the club won the cup. If we can do something special on Saturday it would be brilliant.”
