Stevie May believes St Johnstone’s achievements this season take them into Sunday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against Rangers unburdened by pressure or expectation.

The Perth side captured the Betfred Cup for the first time with a 1-0 win over Livingston in the final at Hampden Park in February and made it into the top six of the Premiership with a late charge.

After drawing 1-1 with the newly-crowned champions at McDiarmid Park in the league on Wednesday night, Saints travel to Ibrox where Steven Gerrard’s side have won all 19 domestic games this season.

Saints attacker May said: “It is almost a free hit for us in terms of we have managed to win a cup which no one would have expected at the start of the season.

“Why not just have a go at Rangers and see what we can do and give it everything we can and hopefully get a result?

“It has been a successful season whether we progress or not, but we will have a go to see if we can.

“In the previous game here and over the years we have shown we can mix it with them and have a go. You need luck go your way.

“They will make changes but in the cup anything can happen and we will try to take advantage of that.”

In his first spell at the McDiarmid Park club, May scored twice at Ibrox in the 2-1 Scottish Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen in 2014 before Saints beat Dundee United in the final to win that trophy for the first time.

The former Aberdeen, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston striker knows knocking out Rangers will go a long way to giving St Johnstone the chance of a “dream” cup double this season.

He said: “You have a little joke but we know it is extremely difficult to win a trophy in general.

“But we can all dream and it is going to be tough to get past Rangers, but we will give it everything we can and know that if we did we are in with every chance of winning it again.

“When you are looking at cup draws you are always looking to see who the Old Firm have got, and can someone knock them out, because once those two are out it opens it right up.

“You look at the cup wins we have had, both times the Old Firm have been knocked out early. And I have been on the other side, I have played against them in cup finals with Aberdeen and they have not gone too well.

“So get them out as quick as you can to give yourself the best chance, I think everyone would say that.”