Keith Lasley, the Motherwell captain, is not renowned in Scottish football circles as a shrinking violet.
The tenacious midfielder is lauded by ‘Well fans for his combative style, even if he is often subjected to boos from opposition stands because of it.
Indeed, the Fir Park faithful couldn’t bring themselves to jeer their leader even after his toe-curling rendition of club anthem ‘Twist & Shout’ following victory in last season’s play-offs, which as anyone who was present to hear it will tell you, is testament to the status he enjoys amongst the Steelmen support.
But Lasley admits that even he was a nervous wreck during the club’s gut-wrenching brush with relegation last season, and he is hoping that the next time he warms up his vocal cords, it will be for a much better reason.
He said: "Whenever I hang up my boots - and I hope that's a few years away yet - then I'll probably look back on the play-off final as the best experience I've had on a football pitch.
"But would I like to go through it again? Definitely not, because when you were in the middle of it all, the second leg at Fir Park was the most nervous I've ever been before a match.
"There were livelihoods at stake and it was a different pressure.
"The euphoria I felt afterwards - more relief than anything else - is certainly something that will live with me forever, but I think a slightly more boring season is in order.
"We want to improve – we’ve got to improve and that means getting off to a better start than we did last year.
"A trophy would top the lot. To be involved in a cup win is beyond our wildest dreams.
"But we have seen the teams that have managed to do it - St Mirren, St Johnstone, Kilmarnock, Inverness - so why not?
"We could be that team that goes on a run of five or six games because - as we showed in the Rangers games - we are capable of beating anyone on our day.
"I'd probably sing a song I knew the words to this time!"
The 35-year-old stalwart is relishing the start of the new campaign, and not just because it will mean an end to another gruelling pre-season.
"I've lost count of the number of pre-seasons I've done," he said.
"I tried to remember last week and it must be about 17 by now.
"As usual, it was a joy! But I still feel good and, hopefully, there are a few more still to come.
"I'm looking forward to playing my part and also hoping for a better season than the last one.
"The whole pre-season routine has changed markedly since I started.
"It's much more scientific than it used to be. Back in the day it was all about going for long runs and the endurance side of things, running until you dropped, basically.
"Now it's all about breaking things down to help improve everyone's different strengths and weaknesses. Plus there's far more work with the ball nowadays.
"Tactics play a much bigger part than they did 10-15 years ago so you spend a lot more time on that side of the game as you get ready for the season.
"It used to be that you'd play friendlies to get your fitness up and then you'd be thrown on to the pitch and away you went, trying to win a game of football without having any shape.
"There's also more analysis on how opponents play these days so, when you add it all up, it's a lot easier!
"Back then you'd go away for six or seven weeks of bevvying while doing no work. Now we're all given close-season programmes to follow and a lot more thought goes into it - we only have three weeks to bevvy!
"The one similarity to the old days is that it's still hard work."
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