It meant that much’

son’s bedroom wall, so I am reminded of it every day. We had quality players in that team and, if I’m honest, it was the only game in my whole career where I didn’t feel nervous. Usually, I like a bit of nerves but for some reason that day, I didn’t have any and, although Kilmarnock started quite well, it was quite comfortable in the end.”

The mid-season staging meant that manager John Collins had them back at work two days later, but not before a highlights reel of moments had been consigned to the memory bank, ready for him to play back at his leisure after he hung up his boots. Those recollections come with a soundtrack.

“Sunshine on Leith is a song that will forever be ingrained in my memory. I still get goosebumps when I hear it or someone talks about it. At the end, we all stood on the pitch with arms linked in front of the supporters as they were singing it and it was emotional for the boss and the players, too.

“Every time I hear the song, it takes me back to that moment. Although, to be fair, it was probably sung

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another 20 or 30 times that night!”

And probably well into the next morning before the celebrations were wrapped up, having basked in the response from the fans and an open-top bus parade through the streets of Leith, which only reinforced the connection between players and fans.

“I think that was when we realised how many lives, how many families, you actually touch as a player. It was very humbling seeing people cheering us with tears in their eyes.

“You could see how much it meant. It is a special club – I would probably go as far as calling it home, that’s how much it means to me – and the fact that cup win meant I had joined a small group of Hibs captains who have won a trophy there, is something no-one can ever take away from me.”

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■The captain, and scorer of the opening goal, runs the Leedsbased RIASA Soccer Academy which brings Americans to the UK for academic teaching and football coaching.