THE Scottish Cup will always be a special competition in my eyes. The first match I ever went to as a fan was the 1987 final when St Mirren beat Dundee United to lift the trophy.

And I was part of the Rangers side that won it in 2003 to complete the treble. There is so much football on TV these days from all around the world that maybe it doesn’t mean as much to kids growing up today but I think for those of us a wee bit older the Scottish Cup still matters a lot. I’m going to be covering quite a few of the ties this weekend for TV and radio and I’m really looking forward to it.

It was my uncle who took me to Hampden for my first ever match almost 30 years ago. I was eight years old at the time and I remember being almost intimidated by the size of the crowd, the atmosphere, and the segregated enclosures.

Read more: Scottish football should be grateful for Peter Lawwell's influence, says Brendan Rodgers

There was also the confusion when United’s Iain Ferguson “scored” in extra-time only for it to then be chopped off for offside. And then St Mirren’s Ian Ferguson went up the other end and scored what would prove to be the winner. As first games go, it wasn’t a bad introduction to the game!

I was looking over the team-lines for that day and was struck by how many of those involved would end up being an influence in my career. On the St Mirren side, I would go on to play for Scotland alongside Paul Lambert, while Alex Smith would one day become my manager at United. I had my best season at the club under him and that helped me get a Scotland call-up.

Both Maurice Malpas and Dave Bowman started the game in ’87 and would still be playing when I began my own professional career some eight or so years later. Maurice, in particular, was someone I learnt a lot from when I first started out. We became good friends and he was a guest at my wedding.

Paul Sturrock would become my manager at Tannadice as would Paul Hegarty who came off the bench that day. Sturrock, as a former forward, used to take me for loads of afternoon training sessions when I was 17 or 18. He also gave me first professional contract in the game. It’s funny that I would end up playing with - or for - so many of those that I had watched that day as a wee guy going to his first match.

I would return to Hampden as a United player in 2001 when we reached the semi-final only to lose to Celtic. At that point I couldn’t have known I would end up signing for Rangers or that I would go on to be capped for Scotland. There was a part of me thinking that might be my only appearance at the national stadium and wishing the result had been better.

Read more: Scottish football should be grateful for Peter Lawwell's influence, says Brendan Rodgers

But I would get another chance two years later. This time I was a Rangers player and we reached the final looking to complete a treble. Dundee were the opponents on a roasting hot Glasgow afternoon and I ended up coming on after 56 minutes to replace Shota Arveladze. I won the foul that Neil McCann crossed for Lorenzo Amoruso for the only goal so that was my claim to fame in that game! I actually ended up playing in left midfield late in the match as Neil got injured after we had used all our subs and so Alex McLeish told him just to hang around up front. Dundee were pushing hard for an equaliser so it was a bit of a shift. But we hung on to win and it remains one of the best afternoons in my career.

That Rangers team is still the last one to win the treble but I think Celtic will go on to match our achievement this season. They have already lifted the League Cup and have such a massive lead at the top of the Premiership that they could almost afford to coast over the line from here. So the Scottish Cup is all that stands between Brendan Rodgers and his players, and the club’s first clean sweep since 2001.

You never know what can happen in a one-off game but Celtic have been so switched on all season I can’t see them throwing it away out of carelessness. And not having to worry about the league, League Cup or Europe in the second half of the campaign can only help them, too.

I don’t see an unfancied side emerging from the bottom half of the Premiership or the lower leagues and going all the way. Instead, I think the final will be between Celtic and one of the sides from the top half. I just hope whoever makes it cherishes the occasion as much as I did both as a fan and as a player.