Quarter-finals: Family tie is a fairytale for Weir

BRECHIN CITY'S historic Scottish Cup quarter-final at home to St Johnstone next Saturday has the club's manager Jim Weir talking fairytales, family ties and fantastic occasions. The fact that Glebe Park will house a 3,000 sell-out crowd as Weir finds himself pitted against the Perth club he served for almost 13 years takes care of the third. It might also play a part in the hope of the first, Weir quite rightly "dreaming on" about the possibility of taking his promotion-chasing Second Division side to Hampden on the back of their first-ever appearance in the last eight of the competition. As for matters of kith and kin, these might seem complicated, but what binds at home the 41-year-old says will not be broken over professional or punter concerns.

Weir's wife Susan is employed as a sales manager at McDiarmid Park. Home for them and their clan, which includes 18-year-old St Johnstone-supporting son Sam, remains Perth which he says provide them all with comfortable, coveted way of life. But, next weekend, Brechin will be the Weir way. "It will be a special day for her and she is delighted for St Johnstone," he says. "But deep down, in her heart, she will want the best for her husband. My son is going to enjoy St Johnstone hospitality on the day. He says he is in a no-lose situation. First and foremost he wants to see his dad win. If that doesn't happen, though, his team does. Either way, he gets a day out at Hampden next month. I don't want him going to the game and not being properly attired though, so I bought him a Brechin strip to wear on Saturday."

Weir prides himself on the relationship he has with the St Johnstone support and they will outnumber the home fans by two-to-one for the tie he is still dismayed is the only one of the four quarter-finals that won't be screened live on television. "The last eight is seven Premier League teams and us from the Second Division. All the elements that fascinate in these encounters - the romance of a wee team going further than it ever has, the possibility of giant-killing act against a top-flight side - are here.

"Look at Crawley Town and Manchester United and Leyton Orient and Arsenal and it has shades of that, I would have thought.

"The money generated for our club from a live screening would have been a real boost because our committee work wonders to make Brechin competitive at a relatively high level on the back of 500 gates, which aren't bad for a town with a 6,000 population."

Weir, who travels around 250 miles a day as the Scottish sales manager for kitchen worktop suppliers Sheridan Fabrications, has a number of players under his charge who appear to be going places, not least top scorer Rory McAllister, who has 42 goals in 63 appearances for the club.

Weir is keen to stress there is more to the team he and assistant Kevin McGowne are moulding than the 23-year-old who dropped down after it didn't work out for him at Aberdeen - now reportedly interested in his services again - and Inverness Caledonian Thistle. "Rory can play at a higher level; there is no doubt about that," Weir says. "The same could be said of a number of our players but I want to build the team, and the cup run could help that."

He confesses to being "undecided" about whether he would chose promotion over a Hampden semi-final if given the choice. He is, though, very decided about where he sees his immediate future, eight months after resigning from Arbroath. "I am very settled at Brechin. I have a good football job and a good day job and combining those two is important," he says, admitting he does allow himself thoughts about what might have been over the fact he was once a member of Owen Coyle's St Johnstone coaching team. "Everyone has ambitions and there are certain frustrations with part-time football but I am well supported at Brechin and I am in no rush to look beyond that."

Allowing himself to look at what could lie beyond a Scottish Cup quarter-final is a different matter.

SATURDAY 12 MARCH

Brechin City v St Johnstone (3pm)

St Mirren v Aberdeen (12.15pm)

live on BBC 1 Scotland

SUNDAY 13 MARCH

Dundee United v Motherwell (1.15pm)

live on Sky Sports 1

Inverness CT v Celtic (3.30pm)

live on Sky Sports 1