DON'T BELIEVE DEE HYPE; Scott plea amid hysteria.

Byline: NEIL CAMERON 

JOCKY SCOTT has spent most of this season trying to keep a lid on Dundee's great expectations. On Tuesday night, though, that lid was blown right off.

Scott's side stormed into the last eight after a stunning extra-time victory that heaped humiliation on Aberdeen - and sparked wild jubilation among Dark Blue fans.

Those supporters already felt their heroes would waltz their way back into the SPL after the club bankrolled 11 summer signings.

Now they'll never be so sure of anything.

However, it leaves Scott with an even harder task of trying to ease the pressure.

The Dundee boss said: "There is a lot of expectation from the supporters. But inside the club we never speak about whether the bookies have made us favourites or anything else.

"There has been an awful lot of talk about us, people saying all sorts of things about what we're going to go because we have a big squad and it's a good squad.

"I brought a lot of good players to this club who we hope can take Dundee forward. So it's inevitable we were going to attract lots more attention than usual.

"But here at Dens we are only taking this season game by game.

"There have been times when the players have felt a bit of the tension from the supporters.

"They hope and expect a lot from Dundee during this campaign. Our job is to try to ignore that.

"People have to understand we are in a very difficult league. You can't see any game as being easy and every team is capable of beating anyone else.

"That's always been the case in this division.

"Maybe beating Aberdeen will increase this expectation even further but our job as coaches and players is to get on with.

"In fairness to the players I didn't need to sit them down and say directly I didn't want to hear them talk about being favourites or for them to repeat what others have been saying.

"Anyway, most of them have only played in the First Division."

Dundee raced into a 2-0 goal lead on Tuesday and should have been even further ahead until the visitors hit back and dragged the tie into extra time.

And in that extra half hour there was only going to be one winner, thanks largely to Leigh Griffiths who scored the vital goal, and the excellent Gary Harkness.

Two players Aberdeen wanted in the summer but couldn't afford.

Scott said: "The only period I wasn't happy with was the first half.

"The players hit too many long balls and were perhaps a bit nervous, a bit apprehensive. "But we were excellent in the second half and also in extra time.

"We played the way I want to see Dundee play."

CAPTION(S):

CLAP OF WONDER: Hero Griffiths and, below, Scott