Dungannon Swifts boss Dean Shiels says reaching Irish Cup final would be "massive" for the club

The Stangmore Park outfit take on defending champions Crusaders at Mourneview Park this afternoon and will be looking to upset another north Belfast side after their shock victory over Cliftonville in the previous round.

They followed that up with a league triumph over the Reds two weeks later – ending their 14-month unbeaten Solitude league record in the process – and another surprise would see Dungannon progress to a first Irish Cup final since a penalty shootout defeat against Linfield in 2007.

"It would be massive,” Shiels told The Score. “I think the importance of the day and occasion would be massive.

"There are lots of amateur teams and teams all around the country that enter the cup at the beginning rounds and for ourselves to be in the final two would be huge.

"The expectations are difficult and because of the battle to survive every year at Dungannon is tough I think it would really mean a lot to the people around the club.

"We're not a big club but so many people work hard, so many volunteers and so many people that put their heart and sweat in around the club and do it for nothing. It would mean a lot to the town and the people who put so much in over the years.

"For the players it would mean a lot but for the club it would be a really big occasion. We're only 90 minutes from that occasion but sometimes 90 minutes can be a long time and there's still the huge obstacle of Crusaders to get past.

"It's a bit early to be dreaming about being involved in the final, as much as we want to be. We have a big task on our hands and will have to be more than at our best to come through that challenge."

Their magical cup run has provided welcome distraction from a tough league campaign, where they currently sit in 11th position on goal difference behind Newry City and are seven points clear of basement boys Portadown heading into the final five matches of the season.

"It's hard when you're trying to build momentum in the league and we've had two cup games stuck in between coming quite quickly in succession between the league games,” added Shiels. “It does give you a little bit of a break.

"Where we are at in the league and the importance of each game, being in a cup semi-final takes that pressure off because we aren't really expected to win the semi-final and it's an opportunity to get away from the gruelling aspect of trying to survive in the league."

They are coming off the back of a heavy 5-0 defeat at home to Linfield but Shiels has no concerns about the mentality of his squad.

"It was a poor result but I didn't need to lift the players at all because of the semi-final being the next game,” he said. “Maybe if it was a league game it would be a different scenario but mentally I don't think the players will need any motivation going into the weekend.

"We trained well (on Thursday night) and the attitude and intensity in the session was fantastic and I think the players are looking forward to the weekend."