DANNY Wilson's Scottish Communities League Cup final turned to ashes in his hands.

He sat dejectedly in the dressing room, head bowed, his mind trying to make sense of how it had all gone wrong.

Outside he could hear the victorious fans roaring on the Hampden slopes. What he remembers is something telling him to enjoy himself, to go out and celebrate, and don't forget to collect your medal.

Wilson felt like a loser in the 2010 League Cup final even though he was actually on the winning team.

The game is remembered not for Rangers beating St Mirren 1-0 thanks to Kenny Miller's late goal, but for the fact Walter Smith's team snatched the glory with only nine men. Kevin Thomson was sent off early in the second half and with 20 minutes left referee Craig Thomson had his red card out again to dismiss Wilson for a professional foul on Craig Dargo.

No-one has a story quite like Wilson, who returns to the League Cup final today for Hearts.

He left Rangers as a 19-year-old who had made just 25 appearances, yet with a medal haul which made him the envy of many other players who had great talent but nothing to show for it: he has a winner's medal for the SPL, Scottish Cup and League Cup. He was an unused substitute in Rangers' 2009 Scottish Cup final defeat of Falkirk, 14 appearances got him a 2009-10 league medal, and then there was that confused, dramatic, fluctuating afternoon against St Mirren.

"It was a strange feeling," he recalled. "I'd been sent off and I was so disappointed, but then we went on to win the cup. I couldn't enjoy the celebrations as much as normal, but hopefully we win this time and I can make up for it.

"I went into the dressing room after being sent off. The game was on TV so I sat and watched it. Kevin Thomson had been sent off earlier so he was already in there. The two of us sat and watched it, but we couldn't even speak to each other. It was a strange feeling, sitting watching the game that was going on out on the pitch.

"We both went out for the celebrations afterwards. We probably both felt we weren't as deserving of it. I felt I'd let the team down. They went on to win and dug me out of a hole. I felt almost guilty for celebrating. I was told to enjoy myself. It didn't quite feel that way at the time, though.

"I was allowed to go up and get my medal. I didn't think I would be. I didn't mind – I just wanted the team to win – but they let me back out to celebrate and I was delighted at that. St Mirren were probably the better team in that final against Rangers - until I got sent off."

Hearts can be pretty confident of getting a longer shift out of Wilson in this cup final than Rangers did in his last.

That red card remains the only one of a three-and-a-half-year senior career which now encompasses Rangers, Liverpool, and loans at Blackpool, Bristol City and Hearts.

Former Scotland manager Craig Levein used to talk about Wilson and Blackburn Rovers' Grant Hanley as being a potential long-term central defensive partnership for the national team.

Maybe they still can, although there will be work to do. Wilson has five caps, the last from the 2-2 Hampden draw against the Czech Republic 18 months ago.

The easy assumption is that Wilson left Rangers for Liverpool too soon, and that the move stalled his career. He appeared only eight times for Liverpool and had played only a single minute of competitive football – on loan at Bristol City – in the 10 months before making his Hearts debut in January.

Yet Wilson, composed and reflective, has no regrets about moving south in that deal worth £2 million to Rangers (it could have risen to £5m if he had appeared more often). Liverpool will always be on his curriculum vitae and he had exposure to top-class Barclays Premier League players, coaches and facilities. Besides, he is still only 21, with his career ahead of him.

He was inevitably rusty in his first Hearts performances but today's final will be his 12th appearance in under two months. Playing so frequently has brought sharpness and form back to his game.

"I'm just happy to be back playing at a good level. I'm just concentrating on playing well until the end of the season," he said.

Then what? His three-year Liverpool contract ends this summer and there will be an amicable parting of the ways. Kenny Dalglish signed him but Wilson did not play a single game after Brendan Rodgers took over at Anfield.

"I wouldn't say Brendan coming in demoralised me. He's very nice. He speaks to you as a player and treats you as an adult. I knew where I stood with him: I wasn't going to play. I never had any problems. He knew, and I knew, that I wasn't going to play for Liverpool.

"I haven't spoken to anyone [at Liverpool] since I left. My contract ends in the summer and I don't think there will be much going on after that. They wished me all the best when I left and I think that will probably be it. It's not something that I'm overly disappointed about because I'm at an age where I need to be playing football. Even if I was to go back to Liverpool there are no guarantees of that, so I need to do what is best for me."

He has already won everything in Scottish football but he can still achieve a first this afternoon: lifting the League Cup and feeling like he's earned it.