DEREK Gaston says Saturday’s semi-final showdown at Hampden ranks alongside Morton’s dramatic title-winning day two seasons ago in terms of the size of occasion and its importance.

Ton faced off against Peterhead in League One in May 2015 as they fought for promotion on the final day of the campaign.

Now the current squad face a last four tie in a national cup competition and the big goalkeeper says he can see similarities.

He told the Tele: “The game for the league title a few years ago was massive.

“You’d probably take promotion over getting to a final and I think going up a league is really important, both for the club and personally - you want to be playing at the highest league possible.

“So winning the league was obviously up there with this game this weekend in terms of importance.

“Hopefully this isn’t the biggest game we play the whole season, hopefully the final will be!

“But it all depends on what constitutes a big game – you could end up going into the last game of the season where you’re playing to get promoted.

“It’s quite difficult to judge because at the end of the season you could be playing to determine what league you’re playing in next year.

“I’d be surprised if any games are bigger than this one, but you never know.”

Gats reckons Ton’s cup run this season has come as an unexpected extra and he wants all of his colleagues to grab the chance it has opened up.

The 29-year-old continued: “Cup runs are a bonus for us this season because our number one priority is doing well in the league.

“Some of the players haven’t played in a game of this magnitude and it’s hard to gauge how they’ll cope.

“You’ve seen it with all teams at all levels, some players freeze with the occasion but hopefully that won’t happen to us.

“But it could happen to some Aberdeen players as well, you just don’t really know how you’ll do until you’ve been there and experienced it.

“The more big games you’ve played in, the more experienced you are and the more you’re able to handle what comes with it.”

Gaston believes that Ton’s ability to raise their game against more fancied opponents could be a key factor against The Reds.

He said: “The only time in my four-and-a-half seasons at Morton when we really underachieved against a Premiership team was against Celtic last season when we lost 3-0.

“We’ve played against Aberdeen in the league cup a few years ago where we took them to extra time.

“We’ve held our own against St Johnstone in quarter-finals a couple of times, beaten Celtic at Parkhead, drew with Rangers in the league and beat Hibs away.

“We tend to do well against the so-called bigger teams and the Premier teams.

“Hopefully we can more than hold our own, give them a good game and see how far it can take us.”