Dundee's Kane Hemmings out to turn tables at old club Rangers

Kane Hemmings spent his childhood dreaming of scoring a winner in front of a full house at Ibrox - but never considered it might be for Dundee.

That's the prospect he is faced with as he returns there to face Rangers in the Scottish Cup this Saturday and he admits leaving the former champions was the best thing he could have done.

Hemmings will spearhead Dundee's attack in the quarter-final tie live on Sky Sports 2 as he takes on his former employers almost three years after leaving them.

The match represents a fresh opportunity to make his mark at a venue where he had high hopes of impressing as a youngster.

Although he was born and raised in the Midlands, he was brought up supporting Aston Villa and Rangers - the latter because of his mum's partner at the time.

When he later signed for them in 2008, Hemmings showed promise as he became a regular scorer in the club's youth sides.

Yet when he stepped up into the senior team - sampling European football in the Champions League qualifiers against Malmo then playing SPL and Third Division games - he struggled.

Hemmings struck only once in 10 Rangers appearances in a match against Queen's Park and consequently failed to secure a new contract.

In the time since, he has won a Championship Player of the Year award after 24 goals in a season at Cowdenbeath, had a spell with Barnsley and netted 20 times this term for Dundee.

While Hemmings didn't reach the heights he wanted to at Rangers, the 23-year-old has warned their fans he's a far better player these days than the one they used to cheer on.

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He said: "My mum's partner for six or seven years was a big Rangers fan so I was actually brought up supporting the club and I was desperate to do well for them.

"But now I want to go there, hopefully score and win the game - not just because we're playing against Rangers but because we've a chance to get to the semi-finals of the cup.

"There's a day at Hampden up for grabs so I want to go there and win and if I score all the better.

"Things could definitely have worked out differently for me at Rangers but it's just one of those things that they didn't.

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"I don't really look back at that with any regret. In the end, leaving was probably the best thing that could have happened to me.

"If I had stayed, I maybe wouldn't have played whereas I got a good year under my belt at Cowdenbeath and that allowed me to get a move to Barnsley.

"I felt I progressed 10 times over as a player while I was there compared with what I was before and I'm not sure that would have happened had I stayed at Rangers.

"I have scored at Ibrox before but it was in the Youth Cup and I've never done it in a first-team game so it would be nice to change that this weekend.

"I should have done it in front of a full house a couple of times already. I missed a couple of sitters against Stirling Albion and I do regret the fact I didn't put at least one of them away.

"If either of them had gone in the back of the net it could have been a completely different situation for me now at Rangers but they never went in.

"I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason. Things have worked out well for me away from Ibrox instead and it is strange how things go in football sometimes.