AT around noon this afternoon, Craig Brown will find himself in very familiar surroundings. From staring out at the setting of a Hampden horizon in front of a set of eyes which glanced at the less than salubrious version of the national stadium for many years, to the now regular perch watching a team in red that continues to content him.

“It’s been a delight to watch Aberdeen since I retired from managing the team,” said the former Scotland manager, who is now a director at Pittdorie.

“I’ve seen every game bar just two in the last five years. I missed a home game this year where we lost 3-0 to Celtic when I was in Serbia on a course. I sat and watched the game on RedTV with the manager of Portugal Fernando Santos. The other game was an away game to Kazakhstan.”

Read more: PREDICTIONS: Our writers give their winners in Motherwell against Aberdeen

We can perhaps forgive him for missing those two for varying reasons.

What is clear is that Brown, who stepped down from management to become an Aberdeen director in 2013, is enjoying life watching his successor at work. Under Derek McInnes, Aberdeen have built on solid foundations to go on and win a League Cup and cement their place in recent years as Scotland’s second-best side. That success has brought suitors to Aberdeen’s door for their manager – namely Sunderland and Rangers earlier in the season – but McInnes has stayed to finish the fine job he has started in the North East.

It is this loyalty to the Aberdeen cause which has Brown believing the man who will lead his team out at Hampden today in the William Scottish Cup semi-final against Motherwell is deserving of another piece of silverware.

“Since I retired I was very grateful to the chairman [Stewart Milne] who asked me to stay on, and he’s someone I have a very high regard for. So does the manager. He is a smashing guy who really does have the club at his heart,” explains Brown.

Read more: Brendan Rodgers dismisses talk that Rangers have significantly closed the gap to his Celtic

“I think having turned down two opportunities to leave, I think if anyone deserves a cup win then it’s Derek. That would be vindication of his decision if the boys won the cup for him.

“I know he feels he has made the right decisions, but that would just vindicate them and clinch it. My feeling is he deserves to win it because of his loyalty to Aberdeen.”

At 77-years-old, Brown is one of Scottish football’s icons, obviously most notably for his spell as national team coach and manager, a spell which spanned five tournaments – the only man to do so. His record stands up there with the very best, with only 20 defeats from 70 matches in charge. Having said that, on a domestic front the two teams which will contest this afternoon’s tie will resonate with him.

While most recently the Aberdeen manager from 2010 to 2013 after leaving just a few weeks shy of a year at Fir Park, as a young assistant manager Brown worked under Willie McLean in Lanarkshire during the 70s, and was part of a Motherwell coaching staff that took Well to the Scottish Cup semi-finals in 1976.

Read more: Graeme Murty: Margins between Rangers & Celtic are smaller than ever ahead of Old Firm clash

“I’m steeped in Aberdeen Football Club now. But I had to excellent and enjoyable spells with Motherwell. In the mid 70s I was assistant to Willie McLean and that was the first year of the Premier League. They were struggling at the bottom of the league but we managed to get them u to ninth and in. Dumbarton were 10th.

“I was in a semi-final with Motherwell in the 1970s when we got done by Rangers… or the referee,” says Brown with a chuckle. On inspection of a grainy YouTube video and Derek Johnstone’s penalty to get the game back to 2-1, he’s not wrong. “We were two up [through Stewart McLaren and Willie Pettigrew] and the rest is history only to be undone by that goal.”

It is perhaps his second stint with Motherwell that will trigger most memories. Taking over from Jim Gannon – remember him? Probably best not – back on December 29 2010, Brown and Archie Knox came out of retirement five years after the former’s last managerial spell at Preston North End. To say the Jack and Victor of Scottish football made a difference is saying something.

“Archie and I had retired happily and Motherwell asked us to come in,” he said with Motherwell at the time having not won in seven games. “It went well and we got asked to stay on. We took them from the play-off in Europe [Motherwell made it through two rounds before being beaten 3-1 on aggregate by Danish side Odense].

“We were also in charge during that infamous 6-6 game with Hibernian. I always tell people that Archie coached the defenders and I worked with the strikers.”

Read more: PREDICTIONS: Our writers give their winners in Motherwell against Aberdeen

Brown insists he has now retired for good, and doesn’t envy both managers today who will look to go one step further than he managed and lead their team out at a Scottish Cup final in may.

“At my age you have to realise you’ve been very privileged,” said Brown, who also took Aberdeen to three semi-finals during his spell in charge. “I’ve never had the honour of walking out with a team at Hampden on a cup final and I hope Derek gets it.

“I don’t envy them at all, I’m 77! Alex Ferguson used to text me to say ‘You know you’re the oldest manager in Scotland?’ then it was ‘You know you’re the oldest manager in Britain?’ then it was ‘I’ve checked it Broon, you’re the oldest club manager in Europe’. So when I retired two weeks later you know who retired? Alex Ferguson.

“There’s been a couple of setbacks recently but I believe Derek has managed the team exceptionally well. I believe the same with Stephen Robinson. He’s’ got the support and the players behind him and I know his track record with Northern Ireland is excellent.

“They are superb as are their two assistants who I know very well. Tony Docherty is an outstanding guy at Aberdeen, I don’t know Las as a coach but as a player he gave me everything. He was a super guy and he deserves any success he gets.

“You are talking of two excellent managers with two excellent assistants. The organisation of the teams this weekend will be first class.”