Cammy Smith feels mutual respect between himself and St Mirren fans but the Dundee United midfielder warned that will go out the window at 3pm on Saturday.
Smith makes a swift return to Paisley weeks after leaving for United when his new team visit the Simple Digital Arena in the William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round.
"I think to be honest I'll get an OK reception," Smith told Arabzone. "The fans were really good with me.
"Because of the success we had over the two years I was there, I think they appreciate the work I did for them, but I also appreciate how they were for me.
"So there is a bit of respect there but I suppose that goes out the window come Saturday at three o'clock and I'm just concentrating on helping the team get the result we are going for."
Saints suffered a sixth consecutive league defeat and fell three points adrift in the Ladbrokes Premiership on Wednesday but Smith knows they will see Saturday as a chance to get back on track.
"It will be a hard game," he said. "It's something different, it's not a Championship team so it's good to go to a different venue for our supporters and I'm sure we will bring a big crowd down.
"But the game itself will be tough. St Mirren will take a welcome break from the league. They have had a tough season fighting at the wrong end of the table but we just need to make sure we bring our game to the table and we'll have a good chance of winning.
"I'd say both teams will fancy their chances.
"It's a hard place to go, I know from playing there that St Mirren enjoy playing at home and they like to think teams fear going there but we can't fear going there.
"We look forward to playing at different venues and taking the game to them."
