'I was drunk for two weeks after cup win' - McGowan seeks Hampden return

Ryan McGowan scored the fourth of Hearts' five goals against Hibs in 2012

Scottish Cup quarter-final: Livingston v St Johnstone

Venue: Set Fare Arena, Livingston Date: Monday, 10 March Kick-off: 19:45 GMT

Coverage: Watch on BBC Scotland & iPlayer, follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app

Cup runs, particularly those that end with a trophy, are cherished and enjoyed by players - sometimes perhaps a little too much.

For Ryan McGowan after Hearts' 2012 Scottish Cup final win over Hibernian, the celebrations went on long after the full-time whistle at Hampden.

McGowan scored the fourth of Hearts' five goals in the 5-1 win and, on Monday, will try his best to get Livingston past St Johnstone and in the semi-finals of this season's tournament.

"I was pretty drunk for probably close to probably two weeks," the Australian recalls of Hearts' famous Edinburgh derby cup final triumph.

"It was just everywhere that you went the following days, people had days off or, had taken the week off. Yeah, you were getting a few free drinks here and there."

Scottish Championship side Livingston are in the hunt for promotion and are also the last second-tier side left in the cup.

St Johnstone, meanwhile, are bottom of the Premiership and could even be replaced by David Martindale's side in the top flight next term.

"At the start of the season, we wanted to do well in the cups," McGowan says. "We were unfortunate in the League Cup, but we've done well in the Scottish Cup.

"We've got a great opportunity to get into a semi-final, but they'll be thinking it's a great opportunity for them too."

'Beating County real confidence boost'

The questions is, what is of greater priority to former St Johnstone defender McGowan and his Livingston team-mates? The cup or promotion?

"You want to be successful in both those competitions," is his not unexpected reply.

"Our main focus at the start of the season was to get promoted automatically or through the play-offs and to go on a good cup run.

"We've got a really good squad and we've seen in recent games we were able to change personnel and not let our performances drop that much.

"Things can change pretty quickly, though, and we're only a couple of bad results away from losing everything as well."

Livingston's run so far has featured wins over Brora Rangers, Premiership Ross County and Cove Rangers.

League 1 Cove were overcome 3-0, with McGowan scoring, but it was the win over top-flight County which has given them belief.

"That was a tricky game but a real confidence boost for us," he says.

"It was a good reminder for us that the step up is quite big but our players handled it well and will have to handle it well on Monday as well."

And, does McGowan have another winners' medal in him?

"Let myself dream," he says. "Maybe one more, one more shot. We'll see how Monday goes.

"I'd love to be playing back at Hampden in a in a semi-final and just having that opportunity to make another final would be wonderful."