Rowan Alexander was proud after the 3-0 win

"We're the first club from the third tier to reach the final," he said. "It's incredible how far a team from a small town have come in five years.

"It's unbelievable and, whatever happens in the final, it's a great achievement. It's a fairytale now.

"The whole town was here and I'm so proud of everyone at the club."

Interview: Gretna manager Rowan Alexander

Gretna, who entered the Scottish Football League in 2002, have already won the Second Division title this season to secure their second successive promotion.

Now they await the winners of Sunday's semi-final between Hearts and Edinburgh rivals Hibernian and have the chance of qualifying for European football.

We'll be underdogs for the final, but anything can happen on the day Gretna striker Kenny Deuchar

"The game wasn't pretty, but we scored our first goal at the right time and that knocked the stuffing out of them," said Alexander of the 3-0 defeat of First Division Dundee.

"And we've shown Scottish football that we have arrived and that we mean to continue."

Millionaire owner Brooks Mileson has helped bankroll the exploits from the club who took more fans to Hampden than the 3,000 population of the Borders town.

And he told BBC Sport: "I was with a journalist friend from the north-east and he said you couldn't write this.

"It's unreal. I am gobsmacked, but you'll have to ask the gaffer whether we have a chance in the final."

Striker Kenny Deuchar opened the scoring at Hampden from a tight angle.

"The manager had a go at me for not shooting from that angle the other week, so I just had a go and it crept in," he said.

"We'll be underdogs for the final, but anything can happen on the day."