WHEN Glasgow Tigers last won the KO Cup in 1994, it sealed the most successful period in their history – as they rounded off their famous double-double of league and cup titles.
And although this season’s charges have missed out on league glory, captain Aaron Summers is still desperate to spark a new era of greatness by becoming the club’s first captain to lift the trophy in 22 years.
The Tigers will take on Newcastle at 7.30pm tonight, with the tie finely balanced at 45-each following last night’s first leg.
Glasgow know they simply need to win the meeting to bring back the glory days to the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium, and seal their first silverware of any kind since 2011.
After suffering Premier League and League Cup heartbreak in the last couple of weeks, Summers wants to ensure the Tigers can still etch 2016 into the history books with victory tonight.
He said: “It would be awesome to give the club and the whole team something to celebrate.
“Everyone wants us to be successful. It isn’t the fact we haven’t wanted it in the last few meetings, it just hasn’t gone our way – so it’s going to be amazing if we can do it.
“We’ve been at the top end of the league all season and it’s felt like it’s fallen apart lately, so to finish with the cup would be fantastic.
“I don’t want anything else other than the club to succeed given the amount of money our owners Gerry and Michael Facenna have put into it. It would give something back to them and give the fans something to really look forward to and enjoy.”
Summers was happy to take a draw from the Newcastle Stadium but says it’s vital they treat tonight’s meeting like any other fixture.
He said: “The track was tough to ride last night but it’s good for us to get the draw – now, let’s do the business at home.
“We’re not having to chase the meeting. You don’t have to think about making up points because we’re level from the start.
“It’s probably the biggest meeting many of us will have raced in, but we won’t make the guys think like that – we just need to get our racing heads on as if it’s a normal meeting and go from there.
“The first four races are the crucial ones. If we can get everyone’s heads up, then it might knock Newcastle about a bit.”
The Australian is hoping to see a packed out stadium to match the massive crowd the Tigers took to the North East yesterday.
He added: “It’s great having that amount of fans there supporting us and I think it helps the boys on as well. As I’ve said recently we need the fans behind us rather than slating us.
“I’m sure after last night the fans will be happier and hopefully we can make them happier still tonight.”