"The gaffer said to me at half-time 'it's written in the stars, Tommo'. I already had that in my mind"

DAVID van Zanten left his home with his neighbour bedecking his house in St Mirren colours.

Steven Thompson arrived at Hampden with a dream. There was hope and expectation in the ranks of Danny Lennon's side yesterday. Both were wonderfully realised at the national stadium.

At 30, Van Zanten travelled from his house to the pinnacle of his career. "The longer it goes on, the more you start to think that days like these have passed you by. But we got this opportunity and we grabbed it with both hands. It's a great feeling," he said.

St Mirren had to come from a goal behind to win the Scottish Communities League Cup 3-2 against Hearts, and the Irishman said: "I think we showed great strength of character to recover from that bad start. Losing an early goal is always a blow, especially in a cup final."

He added: "What we've achieved hasn't really sunk in yet. It's pretty emotional for me, being at the club for as long as I have."

Van Zanten, who first signed for St Mirren in 2003 before returning from Hibernian seven years later, knew first-hand of the hopes of the supporters. "I live in the Renfrewshire area and when I walked out the door this morning my neighbour across the road was decorating his house from top to bottom in St Mirren's colours," he said.

"So it's been right in my face ever since we beat Celtic in the semi-final. It's all we've been looking forward to since then. I might pop into my neighbour's for a drink later on, assuming he's still up at five in the morning. We'll be celebrating for a while and I hope the gaffer isn't expecting us back at training until at least next Monday."

Steven Thompson, who scored St Mirren's second goals, was also looking forward to a night of celebration but his will come after a period of dreaming. "The gaffer said to me at half-time, just before we went out: 'It's written in the stars, Tommo'. I kind of already had that in my mind," said the striker, who took all of 46 seconds to put his side in front in the second period.

"I've been thinking about nothing else, to be honest with you, since we won the semi-final against Celtic. To say it's been playing on mind would be an understatement," said Thompson who, at 34, was a leader on the field for St Mirren yesterday.

"I've gone through a world of different emotions, a lot of anxiety this week," he said. "I'm finding it difficult to explain exactly what it means to me. I suppose it means everything – for the supporters, as well. It's been 26 years without a trophy. To be involved in that moment, to have scored in that moment, to be part of the team that won, the pride that I'm feeling right now – there aren't enough descriptive words in the English language for it."

The anxiety threatened to disturb the striker's rest on the eve of the final but he found a solution. "I took a sleeping pill last night. That was the easy way out," he said. "My wife had a migraine so she went to bed early, then I put the kids to bed. They were messing about until around nine. Then I just took a sleeping pill and that was me. I woke up today in a very positive frame of mind."

He added: "I had it in my head what I wanted to do, I had it played out, exactly how I would like it to go. And now it has happened."

The former Rangers, Cardiff City and Burnley forward used a technique to hone his focus on the match. He said: "I'm big on visualisation. I find it a strong key to sporting performance."

He pictured the moment of glory and then lived it. There will, one suspects, be no trouble finding sleep after an extended celebration.

Taken from the Herald