Mother adds to Steven’s Cup strain
FOR St Johnstone defender Steven Anderson, the pressure building up ahead of this weekend’s William Hill Scottish Cup Final goes far beyond the Perth club’s bid f or their f i rst major silverware in 130 years.
In addition to trying to carve his name into McDiarmid Park folklore, the 28-year- old will have to cope with the added strain of not ruining his mum Marion’s landmark 50th birthday.
The Anderson family are holding what they hope will be a joint celebration this Saturday, hiring a corporate hospitality box at Celtic Park to sip champagne and watch their boy take on Dundee United in the end-of-season showpiece.
Anderson, now in his testimonial year at Saints, is painfully aware that a defeat for Tommy Wright’s side would render the bubbly flat on his mum’s big day.
‘We are under pressure because this club has never won anything — but I’m also under pressure to give my mum the best birthday present ever,’ said Anderson with a smile.
‘To win it would be a big thank you on her 50th birthday.
‘My family will be making a day of it in the lounge at Celtic Park after going to a pub for a bite to eat beforehand.
‘I suppose if she gets enough champagne she will be delighted — but she’s desperate to see me do well.
‘I’ve been at St Johnstone for so long (since 2004) and we’ve not won much in that time.
‘In fact, the club have not won anything major in 130 years, which is really disappointing.
‘We’ve been to so many semifinals and lost them, so it’s great to be finally in a final.
‘I’ve not even thought about becoming a hero. I just want to win a cup, first and foremost — although it would be the perfect gift for mum.’
It seems odd that Anderson has never been to a Scottish Cup Final before, not even as a fan.
But then it emerges that he supports Hibernian, whose poor record in the competition ( no wins since 1902) even manages to eclipse the current Easter Road side’s dire league season.
But Anderson knows he now has a chance to secure some belated and l ong- awaited Scottish Cup glee for the Hibees in his family and in his close circle of friends, albeit while cheering him on f or Saints against United
‘I like to see Hibs doing well,’ he said.
‘ I am f r om t hat s i de of Edinburgh and most of my friends are Hibs fans, so I like to see them doing well.
‘My friends go to a lot of their games. They have been to a few finals to see Hibs — but I’ve not.
‘I have never been to a cup final. I have never had the urge to go to one unless I made it as a player, which I have now.
‘It’s going to be a great occasion and I am just delighted to be involved in it.
“It would be a big thank you on her 50th”
‘A few of my pals will be there and there is bus going from Musselburgh to the game. Hopefully, they will be our 12th man.’
Fate has ensured that Dundee United will be Anderson’s opponents on Saturday, with the Tannadice side having released him as a youth trainee back in 2004 before John Connolly signed him for Saints.
But revenge will not be a part of his quest to add a Scottish Cup to his 2009 First Division title medal with the Perth Club and a 3-2 Challenge Cup victory over Dunfermline at Dens Park in 2007.
Instead, he sees it as a chance to create memories rather than earn medals.
‘The only final I have played in was that Challenge Cup Final and I remember it being a good occasion — but it was clearly not as big or as prestigious as the Scottish Cup Final.
‘It was good to get the medal but I actually don’t still have it.
‘I give it to my family to keep it for me.
‘The memories are the most important thing for me.
‘If we do win the Scottish Cup, my medal will go to my gran and so will my strip.
‘The deal is that she keeps them and I keep the memories.
‘I hope I have some pretty good memories by Saturday evening.’