So, who'll be singing come 4.45pm?

STEVEN Thompson is being unusually coy.

The St Mirren striker has written a cup final song ahead of this afternoon's Scottish Communities League Cup final between his team and Hearts, but has little intention of releasing it for public consumption. Thompson wrote and recorded a tune for Cardiff City when they reached the 2008 FA Cup final, the video of the striker strumming his guitar as his team-mates sheepishly sing along in the background still available online. This time, though, Thompson's tribute to his hometown team looks like remaining a strictly private affair. "I've written one, but I've not given it to anybody," he said. "It's in the house but it's remaining there. It won't ever be broadcast, even if we win the final. I've only played it to my wife Joanne, my kids, my brother and a couple of the players. My mate at the BBC has been trying to get me to give it to him for weeks, but it's not happening. If we could have got Paolo Nutini to sing it, it might have been different."

Thompson, instead, is focusing on another cup final record. St Mirren have never won the League Cup and today's match is only their third appearance in the final. Thompson experienced plenty during an eventful career with Dundee United, Rangers, Cardiff and Burnley, but he readily admits that being part of the first St Mirren team to lift the trophy would top the lot. The Paisley side, you see, were Thompson's boyhood team. He grew up in the same street as Barry Lavety, the bustling striker who he idolised, and recalls being on the terraces at Hampden as an eight-year-old the last time the Paisley club won a major trophy, in 1987.

"That was my first game – what got me first hooked as a St Mirren fan and I've still got some really good memories of it," he said. "I remember being terrified when we scored. You got the rush forward on the terracing and I remember the noise levels and I couldn't believe the number of people in the ground. It was a crap game. They [Dundee United] scored one that was offside and then Ian Ferguson stepped up with his goal. But it was a quarter of a century ago. It's been a long time and hopefully we can bring a cup back to Paisley."

Thompson is approaching what can be diplomatically described as the twilight of his career, but at 34 there is little sign of him slowing down. He has signed a one-year extension to his contract and has no plans to make it his last. He takes inspiration from his former Burnley and Scotland pal Graham Alexander, now manager of Fleetwood Town, who broke the 1000 mark for senior appearances and will be his guest of honour at Hampden, with his son Callum.

"I've had good spells, but over a prolonged period of time in terms of my form, consistency and goal return, I would say this has been my best spell," said Thompson. "I'm not winding down. I always thought I would finish in my mid-thirties, but having watched Graham over my three seasons at Burnley and witnessed his appetite for the game at 38, 39, the way he prepared, looked after himself and played in every game, it made me think 'it doesn't have to end'."

Thompson's children, Gracie and Struan, will also be in attendance, just as he was in 1987, symptomatic of a club which is hugely active in its community, endeavouring to build its support base among future generations.

Thompson, a native of Houston, has been overwhelmed by the buzz which has engulfed Paisley and the surrounding areas, with fans always eager for a chat in the shops, and with one school run making a particularly big impression.

"There have been banners up," he said. "There's a roundabout in Houston and there are always signs on it – Happy 50th or whatever made out of bed sheets. I was driving to pick up my daughter from school on Thursday and somebody had made a banner that said 'Thommohawk Believe' next to a big St Mirren sign. I was close to crying. When I got to school that was the chat – somebody had put it up for the school run. It has been really touching the number of people who are willing us to do it. I just hope and pray we can."

Taken from the Herald