Motherwell's Andy Rose looking for more Hampden joy
The midfielder played at the national stadium when Motherwell beat Rangers in the Betfred Cup
Motherwell midfielder Andy Rose says the idea of more good times at Hampden will spur him on against Dundee this weekend.
The Betfred Cup runners-up continue their Scottish Cup campaign with a journey to Dens Park on Saturday, and a win in that match would see them just one game away from another appearance at the national stadium.
Rose and his team-mates experienced joy in October when they beat Rangers, before falling to Celtic in the final and the former Coventry player is eager to get back to the big stage.
"Some of those cup matches were some of my favourites this season,'' he said. "Being able to give our fans two days out at Hampden was fantastic.
"That semi-final, beating Rangers, there's not too many feelings better than that. Our fans were electric that day.
"The final, we have spoken about it plenty of times, we gave a good account of ourselves but came out on the wrong end.
"That feeds motivation, we want to get back and have that feeling of winning in a semi-final at Hampden. Once you have had a taste of that, you want to bottle it up and be able to taste it again. We will use that as our motivation. ''
Motherwell have undergone changes since Louis Moult's double downed Rangers, with their top goalscorer having departed for Preston.
His strike partner that day, Ryan Bowman, remains out with a fractured cheekbone while defender Peter Hartley spent the eve of the fifth-round tie seeing a specialist about a foot injury.
But manager Stephen Robinson has managed to rebuild some momentum with the help of some promising new signings. Tom Aldred has looked solid at the back and Nadir Ciftci and Curtis Main have scored five goals between them up front.
"The new players have settled in really well,'' said Rose, whose team beat St Johnstone 2-0 on Tuesday.
"Curtis and Nadir have scored important goals for us and Tom has been incredible at the back. Across the squad there is a really good feeling. Results have been good since the turn of the year and performances have been very good.
"There's a real confidence amongst the group. When you win games, that comes naturally.'