Gardner hopes for a day to remember

Mar 16 2013 by Jeff Holmes, Paisley Daily Express

For Gardner Speirs, St Mirren’s 1987 Scottish Cup success was a bitter-sweet experience.

The midfield ace, who joined the Buddies at the age of 13, rose through the ranks to the first team but was ravaged by injuries in the year Saints won the cup.

He missed out on that glory day at Hampden 26 years ago...and is urging the current crop of Saints stars to make sure they soak up every minute of the experience when they line up against Hearts in the League Cup Final tomorrow.

Speirs said: “I didn’t play any part in the semi or the final in 1987, which was disappointing, but we had a great squad, so it was hard to be too disillusioned when we won the cup.

“I did play my part in the earlier rounds, though. Our first match was against Inverness and was played in near Arctic conditions but we handled it okay.

“Despite the pitch being bone-hard and our opponents giving us a bit of a scare, we eventually won quite comfortably.

“We were then paired with local rivals Morton in the next round and there was always a great atmosphere in games between the two teams, especially in cup matches.

“We had a great rivalry with Morton. It was fierce but it was also healthy and I remember the game at Cappielow in 1987 was a cracker of a cup tie.

“Morton were leading 2-1 late on and we really did have to show all of our battling qualities to eventually get there in the end, winning 3-2.

“We took care of Raith Rovers in the quarter-finals and then Hearts in the last four and topped it all off by winning the final against Dundee United.”

Speirs, who is now into his fifth season as manager at Third Division oufit Queen’s Park, reckons the emergence of a crop of talented young players was a major factor in winning the cup all those years ago.

He said: “The likes of Ian Ferguson, Paul Lambert and Brian Hamilton were coming through the ranks and already making a major impact.

“All three had a massive bearing on the final. They had bags of talent and played without fear, which is always a winning combination.

“Then we had the more experienced guys, such as Billy Abercromby, Neil Cooper and Kenny McDowall, so it was a great blend of youth and experience that manager Alex Smith had accrued.”

Now 49-year-old Speirs is hoping St Mirren’s long wait for another major trophy will come to an end at Hampden tomorrow.

Saints have been finalists in the League Cup twice before – in seasons 1955/56 and 2009/10 – and Speirs reckons it could be a case of third time lucky for Danny Lennon’s team.

He said: “Saints beat the best team in the country to reach the final and it was their performance against Celtic that impressed me most.

“Normally, the only thing that matters in a cup semi-final is the result but St Mirren were extremely impressive and played some really good football on the big occasion.

“They now have a great chance of lifting the silverware. They have good players and that semi-final performance will have given them great confidence.

“I mean no disrespect to Hearts when I say this but I would love to see my old club win the cup.

“I enjoyed my time in Paisley immensely and played almost 100 games for Saints. I also cut my teeth with St Mirren Boys Club, so I feel a real connection with the Buddies.

“I sincerely hope they win this final and give Paisley a great reason to celebrate.”