ALLAN JOHNSTON has described Saturday’s Scottish Cup clash with Hamilton as an “unbelievable opportunity” to move one step closer to Hampden.

The Pars boss is relishing the opportunity to bounce back from the disappointing league reverse at Falkirk – which he admits makes their play-off aspirations “really difficult” – when top flight Accies come calling in the fifth round.

Dunfermline haven’t reached the last eight of the tournament since 2009 when they went on to make the semi-finals and while Johnston is bullish over their chances against a Hamilton side struggling in the Premiership, he knows they have to produce much better than they did at the Falkirk Stadium.

He told Press Sport: “We know we’re better than that. You can go right through the team and I don’t think anyone played to the standards that they have been playing; we let ourselves down. It was a bad result but it was a poor performance and that’s probably the most disappointing part because throughout the season there’s been a lot of good performances.

“You still retain hope (of making the top four) but it’s going to be really difficult. We need to put a run of results together where we’re winning week-in, week-out but it will be difficult. We’ve got some hard fixtures coming up but in this league anything’s possible.

“You always try and aim for the team above you, try and catch them and continually improve and work your way up the league. So far we’ve done that but it’s how you react to a defeat. Hopefully we can react well and bounce back.

“If you look at the cup, what an opportunity it is. If you beat Hamilton and you look at the draw, you could quite easily get another Championship team or a lower division team, and then you’re talking about the semi-finals. There’s an unbelievable opportunity so hopefully we can get ourselves in the hat for the next round. It’s the same old thing; one game at a time.”

He added: “I was at Hamilton’s game last week against Inverness; they played really well and won quite comfortably. They’ve got dangerous players and a lot of quality so we’re not doing to underestimate them. I’m sure they’ll come and have a go but I imagine it won’t be a tie they’re looking forward to either. It’s a massive game and a great opportunity to get through but, individually and collectively, we’ve got to play a lot better than we did on Saturday.”