Jack Ross is desperate for Hibs to make amends for last season’s Scottish Cup shame, but is fully focused on avoiding a stumble at Stranraer.
The Easter Road side were bumped out of last season’s semi-finals by rivals Hearts despite being heavy favourites to defeat their Championship opponents and reach the final.
With Rangers and Celtic being drawn in the fourth round, this season’s competition has opened up and several Premiership sides will fancy their chances of going all the way.
But Ross knows looking too far ahead can be a recipe for disaster, so insists the Hibees will afford the Stair Park side the same respect they did to Queen of the South in the last round.
He said: “We want to win the cup so the next tie is the most important one for us.
“I’m excited by it and the following league game (against Livingston) because they’re brilliant games for us, we know there are big prizes at stake for us and I’ve got a group who are really determined to finish the season off.
“It would be hugely disrespectful to Stevie Farrell and his squad at Stranraer to look beyond this game.
“We were incredibly respectful to Queen of the South in our preparations for that game and how we approached it and I think that was reflected in the performance.
“Everything we do is about giving them the same depth in preparations as we do league games and if we are successful it progresses us further in the cup again.
“But certainly for us we’re not looking any further forward than this game.”
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