To Motherwell fans, he will always be ‘King Louis’, and there is no question over what his crowning moment was in claret and amber.
The adulation Louis Moult enjoys round Fir Park way was earned over a period far longer than one afternoon. With 50 goals over two spells at the club, the striker was taken to the hearts of supporters for his honest endeavour, pride in wearing the shirt, and his eye, on occasion, for the spectacular.
Of all the magical moments he produced in a Motherwell jersey though, there is undoubtedly one that stands out far above all others.
It was eight years ago now that Moult latched onto a hopeful Charles Dunne clearance as it dropped out of the Hampden sky, as Motherwell took on Rangers in the League Cup semi-final.
He took a quick glance to see that Jak Alnwick had strayed from his line, and then made time stand still in the national stadium as his impudent lob hung in the air for what seemed an age, before landing sweetly in the back of the net.
It was a goal with far reaching consequences. It gave Motherwell an unassailable 2-0 advantage, after Moult had earlier scrambled home the opener from a corner, booking their place in the League Cup Final. It cost then Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha his job.
And it meant that Moult could hardly go out in public in Scotland without someone coming up to him to talk about it.
"Even to this day, it's so surreal, because it's probably the goal that I am remembered for,” Moult said.
“Whenever I go back up to Scotland or I bump into a Motherwell fan, they literally say the same thing about it. There was that moment where it all went quiet, and then we saw the ball hit the net, and then the eruption is something that will live with whoever was there, and certainly with myself and my family, forever.
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“I'm massively proud of that if I'm honest. I was tired in the game, and I've seen the ball coming over the top. At the time, I remember thinking, ‘I've probably not got the legs here to carry on and then get a shot off. So, I'll go for it’.
“Thankfully for me, it's gone in the back of the net, and it couldn't have gone in any better to be honest, could it?
"I’ll never get fed up of people talking to me about that goal. I never get fed up of talking about any of my goals, by the way! But no, I love it when people mention it. I'm all for it.
"I can’t believe it’s been eight years. It just seems to have flown by. But I have so many happy memories, obviously, of the day.”
Some reports after the match described Motherwell’s triumph over Rangers as a shock, but given the relative states of the two teams going into the game, Moult revealed there was always a quiet confidence within Fir Park that the Ibrox giants were there for the taking.
"We probably had more belief than what we let on, if that makes sense,” he said.
“There was a lot of things getting touted in the press, that Rangers were super confident going into the game, which they always are, and that they expected to beat us with their fan base and their history.
“We used that as motivation on the day and the build-up. We were all very, very well prepared. Personally, I felt as ready as I ever could be going into the game, and I think it paid off.
"The game was very open and it took us a little while to settle. There was definitely some golden chances for Rangers in that first opening probably 30-40 minutes.
“But then we got in at half-time and we settled ourselves down, because it is a massive game and it's probably the biggest game that some people had played in at that stage of their career.
“So, it was all about calming the nerves more than anything. It probably did take us 45 minutes to calm them nerves, to settle down and remember what our game plan was. And all we needed really was the first goal.
“Thankfully, we managed to get that from a set piece, we were very good at that that in that season, and the rest is history.”
One of the factors that allowed Motherwell to turn the game in their favour was the domination of the Rangers backline by Moult and strike partner Ryan Bowman, who gave Bruno Alves and Fabio Cardoso – who famously had his nose burst open by a stray Bowman elbow – a torrid time of it.
“People talk about that, but I caught one to the eye earlier on that day too!” Moult said.
"For me, you know, it's part and parcel of the game. We were a physical team, but, they were giving it out as well. So, it was a good contest and the thing is, what played to our strengths is that we enjoyed that side of the game. So, that's probably why we did come out on top and win the game.
"As a football club at the time, Motherwell played to mine and Bowie's strengths and that's why we had a lot of success in in that season and probably why personally I had a lot of success at the football club.
“I found a manager in Stephen Robinson that saw the strengths in me and what I was good at and he wanted to get us in the game as quickly as possible.”
The tactics deployed by Robinson that day – the man who is, ironically, in the opposition dugout tonight at Hampden as manager of St Mirren – got their fair share of bad press. And his style that has proven to be so effective in Scottish football is still regularly disparaged to this day.
For Moult, that criticism is unwarranted, and does Robinson a massive disservice. Such is his respect for his old gaffer, that he fears he may be cheering on Motherwell through the cracks of his fingers from afar this evening.
"I think the best way to sum it up was that we would play in the right areas,” he said.
“We would put pressure on the opposition back line, and as I said, that's probably why my goal tally was high at Motherwell because we played to that strength.
“I played against St. Mirren of course last season and he's no different, he does what he does and gets success from it. So, why change?
“It's a really intriguing game. And you know, it's a difficult one to call, actually, because of the two different styles and the similar size of the clubs in terms of budgets and stuff like that. So, it's going to be interesting to see how Stephen Robinson sets up. Will they go as a high press, or will they let Motherwell have the ball?”
Either way, Moult - now at Crewe Alexandra - is firmly hoping that his old team can do the business. He still follows their fortunes closely, and feels close ties to Fir Park, fuelled by his warm memories of his time as a player there.
There are a couple of niggling annoyances over his Motherwell career, though, if not quite full-blown regrets. The first of which is that having defeated Rangers in that semi-final back in 2017, they then ran into Brendan Rodgers’ ‘Invicibles’ Celtic side.
“I remember I had a header, and Craig Gordon made a brilliant save,” he said.
"I actually thought it was in. And then they've gone up and got a soft penalty and Cedric Kipre got sent off as well.
“So yeah, it's one of my...not regrets, because I was proud and I am proud of getting where we got to, but that one step more would have been incredible, wouldn’t it?
"Another thing that will always annoy me is that I probably shouldn't have come back to the club at the time I did, just because of my ankle, basically. But I was so eager because it was the club that I loved, and it is the club that I love.
“I wanted to try and repay everyone, basically, with my performances and help the manager.
“But prior to signing, I didn't train for 10 days because my ankle was massive. And then I was in a sticky situation with Burton, they wanted me out, and I needed to go out and try and play.
“I got told my ankle was absolutely fine by people who should know such things, but then as soon as I started training at Motherwell, within a week, I knew it wasn't right.
“I was trying my best to play through the pain and it got to a point where I literally couldn't run around. So, it's something I massively regret. But I only did it because I wanted to try and help the football club, basically."
That though, is in the past. Moult now hopes that the immediate future for the club he loves includes some precious silverware, with Jens Berthel Askou’s current crop being able to take that one step further than his own team ultimately managed.
History, he feels, is there to be made, particularly as there isn’t a team of the standard of the Celtic one that dashed Motherwell dreams during that season standing between them and glory.
“That has to be the message,” he said.
“You're making memories, and you really can make history.
“That's something I would be probably saying in my in my team talk if I was a player or a coach. I would be saying, 'You know, give it all here, lads, and by the way, we've actually got a real chance.'
“When we were in that final, Celtic had some fantastic players. Not to say they haven't now, but they're in that little bit of uncertainty, aren't they, with the manager situation. So that's something I would be using as an incentive.
“That day before we played Rangers, I remember thinking when I was going into the game, ‘stand out, make yourself known, create that one moment’, and luckily enough, I did do that. You've got to be thinking like that.
“I'll be watching on, definitely.”
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