WHAT is it they say about the Sixties? That if you can remember them you weren’t there? Well, David Clarkson has a similar sensation when he thinks back to Motherwell’s epic 1991 Scottish Cup final win against Dundee United.

He has seen all the pictures and heard all the family stories, how he turned up at Hampden as a five-year-old kid, watching his uncle Phil [O’Donnell] throw himself bravely at the ball to head in his first-ever Motherwell goal, the Fir Park side eventually going on to win an epic final 4-3 in injury time. He was there alright. He just can’t quite remember it.

“I was only five but I went to the game because Phil was playing,” says Clarkson. “I can’t remember too much about it because I was only small, but it was a special day for the family. I have looked back at pictures and the family speak about it and tell me stories about the day - I think THEY all enjoyed it.

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“No, it will always be a special occasion for us,” he added. “The pictures are all still up around the ground to celebrate that team and any time Motherwell get to a final, especially a Scottish Cup one, the ‘91 team gets mentioned.

“I’m sure the players now will want to be remembered as fondly as that team. We have reached a few finals since then but never got over the line.”

If the episode, of course, has added poignancy given the passing of O’Donnell in front of his eyes mid-way through a match against the same opponents at Christmas 2007, as it happens Clarkson – his career ended early by a knee injury severe enough that he needed to teach himself to walk again – was able to sample the rare of experience of visiting Hampden purely as a fan again as Motherwell took Aberdeen apart in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

Having recently returned to the club as an academy coaching capacity, Clarkson hopes to be back at Mount Florida in club colours on Sunday to see if the Fir Park side can go one better than their only Scottish Cup final since, when they went down 3-0 to Neil Lennon’s Celtic side in 2011. But it will depend somewhat on some generous scheduling of the club’s academy fixtures.

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“It was different being there as a supporter,” said Clarkson, speaking as part of the Back Onside celebrity golf day ahead of International Mental Health Week. “It was better, I was able to relax. It was nice to be there to see the boys reach the final and I can’t wait for Saturday.

“But I am working at the academy at the club now and loving it,” he added. “I came back in January full-time and I am looking after the Under-18s and I help out with the Under-13s through to the 16s.

“I feel like a baby-sitter, parent and counsellor at times but I love it. I have done my badges over the last few years and it is something I always wanted to get myself involved with, to give something back to the club.

“I like sharing my experiences and I know what they are going through because I have faced the same challenges they have. If I can help build them up to be good players, and good characters, then I will have done my job right.”

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For a provincial club like Motherwell, reaching two finals already makes this a great season. Winning one of them, on the other hand, would make it a legendary, never-to-be-forgotten, one, the victorious team’s faces plastered all over the walls of Fir Park for decades to come.

Louis Moult might have moved on from the team which went down 2-0 against the same opponents in the BetFred Cup final back in November, but Curtis Main has proved an able replacement. The rugged, hard-running, physical style of play which has served Motherwell so well for much of the season will remain too – even if Cedric Kipre was dismissed during that match for the softest of touches on Scott Sinclair at a time when the Lanarkshire side were right in the match.

“Motherwell will have a plan and will do what the gaffer wants from them,” said Clarkson. “They have played the same way all season and I can’t see them changing because it has worked for them so far. They all know their jobs and they are a strong unit

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“In a cup final there is always going to be an edge and the players will be up for it,” he added. “If someone isn’t then they won’t give themselves a chance. The good thing is they have been to a Hampden final already this season, so they know what it is all about and that can only help them.”

Obviously, Clarkson’s specialist subject are the strikers. “The two boys up front, Ryan Bowman and Curtis Main, work well together and they are a handful,” said Clarkson. “They don’t give defenders a minute’s peace and any defender will tell you they hate strikers like that. They are strong, physical and they are brilliant at what they do so it will be a difficult afternoon for the Celtic defenders.

“Louis Moult was scoring all the goals and people were wondering when he left who would come in and take over but since Curtis has come in he has done very well and he has hit the ground running. He has scored a lot of goals and he has formed a great partnership with Ryan. When that happens and a guy comes in and does so well so quickly, people tend to forget about past players and focus on the here and now, and that’s a good thing.”

It isn’t just Celtic who have the incentive of signing off an excellent season in the right manner.

“I think Motherwell will want to finish the season on a high,” said Clarkson. “They have done so well to get to two cup finals, they will want to win one now. There has been too many times they have got to finals but not been able to clinch one.”