LIAM GORDON admits tomorrow's Betfred Cup semi-final against Hibs will be the biggest game of his career to date – but the St Johnstone defender won’t let the occasion phase him.
The 24-year-old has enjoyed a consistent run in Callum Davidson’s team this season and his performances have resulted in an extended deal at the club he has supported all his days.
Gordon watched on as a fan when Saints won the Scottish Cup in 2014 and he hopes he and his teammates can create their own bit of McDiarmid Park history during this current campaign.
“When you look at the games I have played in I have never played in a semi-final and I have never played at Hampden in a game of this magnitude,” Gordon told Herald and Times Sport.
“I feel like we have a great opportunity to do something good here. It is going to be a very tough game but it is one we are all looking forward to.
“It feels to us that it is still a massive game [despite no fans] and what an opportunity we’ve got for the whole club.
“You’ve not got your mates saying ‘I’ve got a night booked through in Glasgow’ but that doesn’t make a difference to us anyway.
“That is the only factor that is a bit different. Within the changing room we know the level of this game and we are prepared to give everything for it.”
Gordon is reminded of the 2014 glory days in Perth every day as the walls of McDiarmid Park are a shrine to Tommy Wright and his team's historical achievements.
He continued: “It is something that you dream of when you are a young boy, let alone play for St Johnstone, but to get silverware for the club as we don’t have much as it is.
“That does drive me on and I would love nothing more than to be a part of something like that. Hopefully come Saturday night we are in a position to do so.
“Semi-finals used to feel like a bridge too far but obviously in more recent years i.e. 2014 it was just like we finally accomplished the impossible.
“It is something that for years to come St Johnstone fans need to still be thinking that we can go and win cups.
“I think with the squad we have now it’s young, it’s exciting the way we are playing, and I genuinely feel like it is something we can look to the future for.”
Gordon also echoed the words of Ali McCann earlier this week who told how he would love St Johnstone to get to a final for stalwarts Liam Craig and Murray Davidson.
He added: “They are two great servants to the club and they deserve nothing more than to reach a final and not just reach the final but hopefully to win some silverware for the club.
“They have given so much to the club over the years and it would be a real nice moment for them so hopefully they can win something for the club that means so much to them.”
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