The Irn-Bru cup final may not be the biggest landmark in the Scottish footballing calendar, but St Mirren assistant manager James Fowler is determined to make the most of the experience tomorrow.

That’s because in the period between leaving Queen of the South and joining the Saints as Jack Ross’s number two, Fowler was forced into working briefly as a labourer.

The short brush with the ‘real world’ has given the former Kilmarnock stalwart a new-found appreciation for his line of work, and he isn’t about to take occasions like this one for granted.

“I was labouring for three weeks, which was a real eye-opener,” Fowler said. “It was at Renfrew, so quite close by.

“It was somebody I knew from Kilmarnock that’s got a building company. I was demented in the house and obviously didn’t have any income as well, so it was time to go out.

“That first day, I was falling asleep in the car on the way home after a real hard day’s shift and thinking ‘I can’t go back there tomorrow’.

“I was lifting lots of stuff and labouring for joiners, getting orders and running about here there and everywhere.

“It was quite like a football dressing room in that there was a lot of banter flying about as well, but it wasn’t something I was looking to do long-term. It was filling a gap and getting some money in.

“I was always confident that something would come up, but it’s just how long that would take. I felt I did a decent job at Queen of the South.

“But it does make you appreciate it when you’re back in the mix and things like cup finals make it extra special as well.

“When you do find yourself out of the game you just think you will come back into it, but then you are out for a while and you start to doubt yourself and how you are going to get back in.

“I was fortunate enough that Jack decided to bring me in, and it’s been a great last two months for us in terms of results.”

Fowler believes that a taste of life outside of football would be a good thing for some of the younger members of the Saints squad to experience.

“I actually spoke to Allan McManus when I came in and he was desperate to get the young boys down for a day’s experience on the building site to let them see what a real job was like,” he said.

“I was in football since I left school as well and you do take things for granted and it is an easy life. It has its lows as well, but the highs and the enjoyment definitely outweigh the lows. It isn’t like a real job like I was doing for that three-week period.”

Football changing rooms are notoriously unforgiving arenas, but St Mirren have taken an unusual step to ensure that the players and staff are being open and honest with one another as they look to continue their recent improvement.

“We’ve got a mood chart which is on the wall of the office,” Fowler said. “Gavin who is on the board brought it in. It goes from -9 to +9 and I’m usually about a +4, which means appreciative.

“You say where you are in the morning and then look at how the group can affect that mood. It’s a good bit of banter, it’s not such a serious thing, but your emotions can go up and down frequently – especially on the coaching staff.

“It’s about picking each other up and being honest about where you are. Sometimes you can hide things and it’s good that we support each other as a staff and with the players too.”

Fowler is expecting an open and entertaining game against Dundee United with plenty of goals, just like the recent 3-2 win that his side enjoyed over tomorrow’s opponents in Paisley.

“I think you take confidence from that,” he said. “We’ve looked at their strengths and weaknesses again and it will be about reinforcing that for us.

“They might change things up as well, and with us having a few players cup-tied we will have some changes as well.”

“They’ve had a lot of negative media in terms of their recent run in the league and they will be looking at it as a break as well.

“I’ve read some of their comments looking to kick-start their campaign again, so I think it’s going to be a good game and a close one.

“The game here last week was close between the two teams and looking at the recent form I don’t think it will be a 0-0, both teams to score is probably the bet and good for a cup final as well.

“That’s good for the fans, and we have to make sure we come out on the right end of that.”