THE one item left to tick off Liam Craig’s football bucket list is playing in a cup final.
The 33-year-old narrowly missed out on Scottish Cup triumphs with both St Johnstone and Hibs after switching between the two clubs over the course of three seasons.
But despite the obvious disappointment, Craig is more determined than ever to embark on a cup run this campaign and he reckons the youthful St Johnstone squad that he is part of is more than capable.
“It is going to be difficult but we have a group here who want to go on a cup run,” he told Herald and Times Sport ahead of today’s Betfred Cup last 16 match against Motherwell.
“I have lost six or seven semi-finals so I would like to change that finally and be part of a cup final. My first one was against Rangers when we got beat on penalties and I can’t get that out of my head!
“Every player dreams of winning cup competitions and tomorrow gives us an opportunity to get into the next round of it and it is one we are really looking forward to.
“We have enough players going forward that can hurt Motherwell and if we can go with the same discipline and defensive performance that we have had over the last few weeks then we can win the game.”
Craig is currently tied down on short six-month deal, which he penned shortly after the departure of Tommy Wright in the summer.
The contract was tabled with a view to Wright’s successor deciding on Craig's long-term future and with the agreement ending at the turn of the year a decision will have to be made soon.
The former Falkirk and Ipswich Town man may not have played as much football as he would have liked this term, but he hopes his experience and influence in the dressing room will help to twist Callum Davidson’s arm.
He said: “I think that will take care of itself, it is not something I am overly worried about. It is not just about playing it is about what you do off the pitch as well.
“I’m 34 next month and I want to keep playing, but the gaffer is helping me with the other side of that too. As much as I’m not playing every week, I still love coming in because you are learning every day.
“First and foremost we have to be a good teammate if you’re not playing. You have to support the players if you’re not playing and help them as much as you can.”
He added: “This season I’m not playing as much but I still think I can offer a lot in terms of advice or helping players after training who are wanting to do extra.
“Again it is helping me on the coaching side but it is also showing the players whoever is left out that you have to take it in the right manner.
“The reason we have been successful over the years is because we have always had a good spirit and a good atmosphere in the dressing room and this year is no different.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here