Winning the Scottish Cup was Smith's greatest achievement

Mar 16 2013 by Jeff Holmes, Paisley Daily Express

Alex Smith was the man in the hot-seat the last time St Mirren won a major trophy ... and he reckons the Paisley faithful should make sure the champagne is on ice ahead of tomorrow’s League Cup Final.

The grandfather of Scottish football – who bossed the Buddies from 1986 to 1988 – is convinced Danny Lennon’s team has the perfect blend of youth and experience.

And 73-year-old Smith can see plenty of similarities between Lennon’s squad and his own Scottish Cup-winning Class of ‘87.

He said: “St Mirren have a great chance of beating Hearts in the final because Danny Lennon has good players.

“They have some promising youngsters in the side but also have guys with good experience, such as Steven Thompson, who I worked with earlier in his career at Dundee United.

“I also like the look of young John McGinn, who was down at the SFA coaching centre at Largs when I was working there. He is a great prospect.

“After seeing off Celtic in the last four, I reckon Saints can win the final.”

And all this talk of finals brings back happy memories for Smith, who will never forget the events that took place at Hampden Park on Saturday, May 16, 1987.

He said: “Winning the Scottish Cup with St Mirren was the greatest achievement in my career.

“Sure, I won the same trophy with Aberdeen three years later but that was different as they sort of expected it at that club.

“You can’t say that about Saints but the cup win brought happiness to so many people. It really was the stuff of dreams.

“I had taken over from Alex Miller the previous December and had inherited some really good players – guys that Alex had brought in and players who were still around from the Alex Ferguson era.

“The whole build-up to the final was something special.

“Previously, I had won leagues with Stirling Albion but those experiences couldn’t compare with the build-up to the cup final.

“We had the perfect dress rehearsal for the final because we played Rangers at Ibrox the week before.

“They had just won the league and there was a full house. It was just what I wanted, especially for the young players.”

Smith also recalls how dropping Paul Lambert for that match at Ibrox left the young midfielder close to tears.

However, it wasn’t long before Lambert was smiling again.

Smith explained: “Tony Fitzpatrick had missed the entire Scottish Cup campaign through injury but he was still a massive player and I wanted to know if he would be fit for the final.

“I took Paul aside and told him I was playing Tony in his position because I had to check his fitness in a game situation. His face dropped and I knew what he was thinking.

“Then I said I would let him in on a secret but that he couldn’t tell a soul – apart from close family.

“He promised to go along with that and I told him he would be playing in the final. I’ve never seen anyone look so relieved!”

Smith can also recall the boost his players received from seeing the traditional Rangers end at Hampden packed with St Mirren supporters on cup final day.

He said: “At that time, Paisley was getting a bit of a rough ride and I knew what it would mean to the people of the town if we could win the cup.

“When we travelled back there with the trophy after the game, the place was full of people cheering and waving black and white scarves. It was incredibly emotional.

“The fans had experienced a lot of previous disappointment through getting knocked out of the cup at the semi-final stages on numerous occasions, so this was payback – and boy did it feel good.

“I was up in Fort William recently and was sitting in a restaurant when a St Mirren fan came over and congratulated me on winning the Scottish Cup – 25 years after it happened.

“That’s what it meant to the Saints fans.””