Dundee United legend Hamish McAlpine believes the Terrors can kick-start a new era if they beat Rangers in Sunday's CIS Insurance Cup final.The former goalkeeper was part of United's League Cup-winning side when they beat Aberdeen in a replay to land the trophy in December 1979.

United beat local rivals Dundee in the final a year later to lift the trophy for the second year in a row.

Those two League Cup victories inspired several years of success, the highlight being the Premier League title win in 1982-83.

McAlpine is hoping his former side can return to Tayside on Sunday after a morale-boosting cup win but admits championship aspirations may be a stretch too far for the current United squad.

He said: "Winning the first trophy was fantastic, it was all about getting across the line.

"It was a bit of a relief because we hadn't won anything for a long time.

"We always thought we were good enough to win, but until you actually do it there is always a monkey on your back.

"It gives you so much confidence to go on and win more.

"After that you weren't hoping to win things, you were expecting to win things.

"It would mean a lot for United to win on Sunday, they have been in the doldrums for a few years so to beat Rangers would do a lot for their belief.

"It will give them a boost to finish third in the league and take it on next year."

McAlpine added: "There was always the thought that only the Old Firm could win the league when I played but Aberdeen and United disproved that.

"We had a squad who were together for a long time, we were all mates who worked hard together and you have to have that to be successful.

"It's different now because there is a greater turnover of players.

"The Old Firm have the money to buy the better Scottish players and foreign players to make their team stronger so I don't think a team outwith will win the title again.

"Cups? Yes. You've got a chance in a one-off cup final and that's where you should be aiming."

United famously lost six Scottish Cup finals at Hampden before beating Rangers 1-0 in 1994 to end their hoodoo.

However, a couple of recent experiences at the national stadium have been somewhat depressing.

A 2-0 defeat to Celtic in the 2005 Scottish Cup final came a few months after they lost 7-1 to Rangers in the CIS Insurance Cup semi-final at the national stadium.

McAlpine insists the United players have to believe they can get results against the Old Firm in Glasgow.

He said: "A lot of the players who played in those games are away from the club.

"But if players think 'we are going to play Celtic or Rangers in Glasgow, we are on to a hiding' then they have the wrong mindset.

"It's 11 versus 11, you've got to go there, hope you get a fair crack of the whip and take it from there.

"You know it's going to be a hard game but we never thought we were going to Glasgow to get beaten.

"You have to believe you can take them on in their own back yard.

"Teams do come to Glasgow and beat Celtic and Rangers but you've got to make it happen, you can't hope it happens."

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